


Gryffindor Pride

by a1_kitkat



Series: Fictober 2020 [31]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Broken Heart, Bromance, Detention, F/M, Gay Pride, Getting to Know Each Other, Good Brother Gregory Manes, Gryffindor Common Room, Herbology Class (Harry Potter), Hogwarts Inter-House Rivalries, Hufflepuff Common Room, M/M, Magic, Max is crushing on Liz, Quidditch, bully kyle, forlex, max and alex are friendship goals, michael and maria are a couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:53:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 26,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27245293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a1_kitkat/pseuds/a1_kitkat
Summary: Alex is still recovering from a broken heart when his paths cross with a fellow student; Forrest Long is Out and Proud, he wants to make Hogwarts a safer place for kids like him and is eager to encourage others to join his cause. Not-Out Alex is terrified Forrest will learn his secret and tries to hide it (and himself) from him but the more time Alex spends with Forrest, he begins to realize Forrest knowing the real him could be the best thing to happen to him.PROMPT USED - MAGIC AU
Relationships: Forrest Long/Alex Manes, Max Evans & Alex Manes, Max Evans/Liz Ortecho, background Michael Guerin/Maria DeLuca
Series: Fictober 2020 [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947391
Comments: 15
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I Stan one (1) Alex Manes & Max Evans Bro-Friendship and would love to write them like this again :)
> 
> Disclaimer: The Fandom will NEVER agree on the sorting of the characters into their Hogwarts houses, this is a fact. If you disagree with *my* sorting, please just enjoy the fic for what it is.

Alex was hunched over the table in the common room, his fingers curled around his quill as it scratched upon the parchment before him. The last thing he wanted to be doing on a Saturday morning was homework but he had little choice. 

The room was in a flurry as his fellow students prepared for a trip to Hogsmeade but he wasn’t going, nope, definitely not today. He was going to stay here and ignore the ache in his heart, focus on his schoolwork and-

“Manes, get up!” 

He silently groaned to himself and pretended he hadn’t heard. 

“ _Alex_ , come _on_!” 

Max approached and yanked the quill free from Alex’s grasp.

“Max!” He protested.

“Come _on_! You’re not going to hide and wallow here all day.” Max argued.

“Watch me!” Alex hissed. “Or, better yet, don’t watch… Just go on your own merry way and leave me alone.”

“Not gonna happen. You’re coming with me and that’s that.”

Alex looked into Max’s determined eyes and sighed. He knew his friend wouldn’t give up until he gave in so he proposed a compromise. He’d go to Hogsmeade on the understanding Max would help him with his homework that night. It was agreed, Alex packed away his school work then they joined their fellow Gryffindor’s in the main foyer to begin the trek into the village.

Max seemed down but Alex didn’t ask why, he chose instead to ask why he wasn’t spending the day with _anyone_ else.

“Michael is in detention as usual and Isobel is off doing whatever Isobel does.” Max confessed.

“So why aren’t you in the library making heart eyes at Liz?” Alex asked.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Max, _everyone_ knows you like her… so just tell her.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Why not?”

All around them their fellow students were trudging along, some casting charms on their friends while others giggled and carried on.

“Haven’t you noticed the… segregation lately?” Max asked in a whisper.

“Segregation?” Alex repeated.

“Between the houses… I know it’s been like it for years but it feels like it’s getting worse.”

“I think it’s all in your head, Max.”

“Look around, Alex,” Max waved his arm half-heartedly at the groups of friends around them. “None of the houses are intermingling.”

His eyes scanned the immediate area and Max was right. The huddles of students were all clustered within their own houses. The Slytherin students were only with the other Slytherin’s; the same went for the Ravenclaw’s. Even Max and Alex were two Gryffindor’s together.

“So you’re avoiding Liz because she’s a Ravenclaw?” Alex asked.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Max argued. “Isn’t the division of houses the reason you and Mich-”

Alex slapped his hand over Max’s mouth to stop him speaking, his eyes darted around frantically, searching to see if _anyone_ may have heard what Max had almost said.

“No!” Alex hissed in a loud whisper. “ _That_ had nothing to do with being in different houses.”

Max didn’t look convinced. Alex grabbed the arm of his jacket and pulled him along the path into the village.

“Come on, let’s go to the Hogs Head, it’s always deserted.” Alex said. “And I’m not in the mood for company.”

“Alex-”

“And no more of your stupid ideas of bias within the school system.”

Alex pushed the door of the bar open and they stepped inside but were immediately blinded by a streak of colour and a large group of students. They were all huddled in chairs that were aligned in a semi-circle around one student. His blue hair contrasting with his yellow and black Hufflepuff scarf and behind him, shimmering in a dramatic yet vibrant effect was an oversized pride flag.

“It’s bad enough there’s a taboo on segregation of the houses within the school.” The blue haired boy was saying. “But what about _us_? If a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw are seen talking, people stare but if they’re both boys and _kissing_ then stones are thrown and I’m sick of it. We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going to take any more of this crap!”

Alex groaned. Max covered his mouth to hide his chuckle.

“Come on, we’re leaving!” Alex insisted and turned to leave. Max grabbed his arm to stop him.

“You wanted to come here so we’re staying.” Max argued. “Besides, clearly Forrest gets what I’m saying.”

Max pushed Alex into an empty booth then went to order butterbeers for the two of them. When he returned and sat down, he found Alex staring at Forrest Long, at the way his passion was riling up the other students.

“Who does he think he is?” Alex muttered into his drink. “Acting all high and mighty, like he’s the authority on queer students on campus.”

“Well, he did get detention for petitioning for transgender bathrooms.” Max said. “And detention for arguing that we’re not taught about famous queer witches and wizards.”

“But our sexuality doesn’t define us; we are who we are regardless of who we sleep with or who we suck face with.”

“Alex-”

“If I were to invent a… wand that casts spells for you, what does it matter who I’m attracted to? My achievements shouldn’t be overlooked because of my sexuality.”

“Is that why you’re not ou-”

“Max!”

“You’re not wrong though,” a voice beside them drew their attention and Alex turned to see the blue-haired boy smiling at him. “But society is messed up, they’re the ones who care more about our personal lives than our achievements… So why hide it like it’s some kind of dirty secret?”

“Well, no one asked you.” Alex snapped.

To his annoyance, the boy simply smiled and nodded.

“Fair, no one asked but I am just telling it like it is,” he said. “We just want to live our lives but the rest of society watch us and judge us and act like we’re the ones in the wrong. Other students bully us and call us derogatory terms but we have just as much right to exist, to live, to defend ourselves and our right to love whoever we want.”

“It’s cool you’re so passionate, Forrest,” Max said to him. “But, uh, now’s not a good time for this debate.”

“There’s nothing to debate, Max,” Forrest replied. “All we want is a safe space on campus, away from the bullies and the gossipers, where we can _all_ meet on equal ground, regardless of our house and just be ourselves.”

“And I commend you for wanting it but you’ll never get a faculty member to agree to it.”

“I will if I get enough students on board.”

“You seem to have quite a following as it is.”

“Yeah, my friends and younger students… We still need more of us older students, like you, Max, you’re a prefect. You have some pull.”

“This is your fight, Forrest, I don’t want to step on any toes.”

Forrest’s eyes shifted back to Alex.

“What about you? You’re the Quidditch Captain, aren’t you?” Forrest asked him.

“So what if I am?” Alex replied.

“The entire school is Quidditch mad... they’re all so obsessed with the damn sport.”

“Hey!” Alex started to inject.

“But if we had a Quidditch _Captain_ join our cause, the school would have to listen.”

“You want me to pimp myself out as the poster child for queer rights? Think again!”

“Whoa, I didn’t mean to overstep… I just… I heard that… I mean…”

Max’s eyes darted between Alex and Forrest. It was like a disaster unfurling before his very eyes and he knew he should step in as the referee but he was very curious how this was going to play out.

Forrest cleared his throat and looked into Alex’s eyes.

“Normally I don’t listen to gossip but Kyle Valenti is pretty adamant that you’re-”

But Forrest’s next words were cut off by the spray of butterbeer that hit his face, dripped down his skin and his neck.

“You know _nothing_ about me,” Alex hissed as he got to his feet. “And you should know better than to listen to Kyle Valenti.”

Alex shoved his way out of the booth and took off. Max handed a napkin to Forrest while spluttering an apology on Alex’s behalf. He hurried after his friend but by the time he pushed his way out the door, Alex was nowhere to be found. 

*

He didn’t stay in Hogsmeade long, wandering the village alone just wasn’t any fun and his search for Alex didn’t result in actually finding him. Max trudged back to the castle but had no way of locating his friend once there because Alex had memorized practically every inch of the place and knew all the ideal hiding spots. 

If he didn’t want to found, it was guaranteed he wouldn’t be. Max didn’t entirely understand Alex’s seemingly dislike of Forrest, perhaps they were _too_ alike? All Forrest wanted was a safe space for queer students and Alex, with his vast knowledge of the castle, would know all the ideal spots.

Max went to the Library, wondering if Alex was there, but found Liz Ortecho with two other Ravenclaw students, heads bowed over their schoolwork. He didn’t want to interrupt but he really wanted to hear her voice, look into her eyes. His feet propelled him towards the table and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Uh, Liz?” Max coughed.

She immediately looked up, her eyes gazing straight into his as he became the focus of her attention. He felt himself becoming flustered.

“Have, uh, have you seen Alex?” He asked her.

Her brows furrowed.

“He’s _your_ Gryffindor friend, why ask _us_?” One of Liz’s friends asked him.

“Did something happen?” Liz ignored her fellow Ravenclaw. “Not another run in with Kyle?”

“No, not, uh, not Kyle.” Max shifted. “But he took off and I just, uh, wanted to make sure he was okay.”

“Well, let me help you look for him.” Liz started to pack up her books.

“No!” Max gasped. Liz stopped, frowned at him. “I, uh, you should stay and keep working. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

He backed away, her eyes still following him, and he turned away, practically running out of the library. Max had no idea why Liz had such an effect on him or why the idea of her helping him find Alex was terrifying. He reasoned it was that he didn’t want her to know Alex had thrown his drink at Forrest… Tensions between the houses were terse enough without Gryffindor students lobbying butterbeers at Hufflepuff students.

Max made his way back to the common room. He muttered the password and the portrait swung open to allow him inside. He asked the woman in the painting if Alex was inside but she just yawned and ignored him.

Once inside, several students were playing exploding snap by the fire while others were working on their homework. In the far corner, underneath one of the windows, Alex had moved one of the plush armchairs and was curled up in a ball.

Max made straight for him and plopped down on the arm of the chair. He looked down at Alex who was just staring into the distance, eyes unfocused. Max reached out and brushed his fingers through Alex’s hair, in turn, his friend leaned closer until he was huddled against Max’s leg.

“You wanna talk about what happened?” Max asked him.

“Nope.” Alex replied.

“Fine, I’ll talk and you can listen.”

“Nope.”

“Alex, you tossed your drink in his face… You essentially became the thing he’s trying to protect others from. Everyone in the Hogs Head saw you assault Forrest Long. I’m surprised you haven’t been called to the headmaster’s office yet.”

“Max-”

“How is what you did to Forrest any different to what Kyle Valenti did to you?”

“Kyle acts to hurt people; he likes his victims to squirm and suffer… I lost my cool and reacted without thinking. It wasn’t an intentional attack, it was… self-preservation.”

“Alex, you’re the Captain of the Quidditch team. Throwing drinks in other people’s faces sets a terrible example for the students who look up to you.”

“Well, I didn’t _ask_ them to ‘look up to me’. I didn’t _want_ to be the model student, being scrutinized for every step I make, every little thing I do.”

“But you’re good at Quidditch and you’re an amazing team Captain… One of the best this school has ever seen. Do you want that taken from you?”

Alex looked up at Max, scrunched his face in disapproval.

“You want me to apologize to him?” He asked.

“I want you to _want_ to apologize,” Max replied.

“Fine,” Alex sighed. “After dinner, I’ll try to get him when he leaves the hall.”

“I think you should find him now.”

“How would I even know where to look?”

Max sighed then rolled his eyes. 

“He’s a Hufflepuff, start at the Kitchens.”

*

Alex hated that Max was right and that it was only fair he apologized to Forrest. He hadn’t planned to throw his butterbeer at him, it had just happened but if word spread around the school that the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team assaulted a Hufflepuff student, there was a chance he’d been kissing his Captain’s badge goodbye.

He pushed through the portrait hole and started along the landing. There was still several hours until supper and besides, most of the students were still down in the village. He moved silently through the halls until he heard a voice call his name.

“Mr. Manes.”

Alex paused. It was the Head of Hufflepuff house. Shit, he was in trouble.

“Professor,” Alex said with a neutral face. “I was about to send word to the Gryffindor common room for you to come see me in my office.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Please follow me.”

Alex bowed his head and immediately followed the Professor to her office. The door was intricate and he couldn’t help staring at the design as it opened and she led him inside. For a Professor’s office, it was surprisingly homely… Or what Alex imagined a comfortable, loving home felt like.

“Please, have a seat Mr. Manes.”

He sat down in the very comfortable chair and waited for her to continue but the Professor remained silent. Was she purposely trying to scare him? A moment later, he heard a light rap on the door and it opened to reveal Forrest. Alex’s heart sank even lower. Max was right, he was in trouble.

“Mr. Long, please take a seat next to Mr. Manes.” 

Alex’s eyes followed Forrest’s every movement as he practically glided across the room and into the seat beside him. He swallowed nervously but Forrest seemed unfazed.

“Now, the reason I called both of your here is because I received word of an incident that occurred in Hogsmeade today?” her eyes scanned both of them. “Would either of you care to comment?”

This was it; he was going to be reprimanded by her before being handed over to his own head of house for a severe punishment. He could already feel the pain of watching tomorrow’s Quidditch match from the sidelines.

“Comment on _what_ exactly, Professor?” Forrest asked. 

Alex dared to sneak another peek at Forrest. He was so calm and collected, and not covered in Butterbeer. On his chest was a Prefect badge like the one Max wore and next to it was a small pride flag. Okay, he got it… Forrest Long was Out & Proud but did he have to rub it in everyone’s face?

“The incident involving two students at the Hogs Head and a mug of butterbeer?” she pressed.

“Oh!” Forrest chuckled and waved his hand in a half-hearted manner. “ _That_!” He actually began to laugh. “Okay, I can definitely see how a casual onlooker would completely misread the situation.”

He leaned back in the seat, flung his arm over the back of the chair and casually crossed his leg over his knee; Alex tried not to stare.

“Misread the situation?” she repeated.

“Yes… Uh, Mr. Manes here was enjoying a meal with my fellow Prefect, Max Evans and I approached to steal some chips but I started choking on one and when I reached for some butterbeer to wash it down, Mr. Manes knocked it from my hand believing it wouldn’t actually help clear my throat so by knocking it out of my hand, he accidentally spilt it all over me.”

Alex had to maintain a neutral expression, trying not to act like this was the first time he was hearing this story. Why on Earth was Forrest _covering_ for him?

“So, Mr. Manes accidentally spilt butterbeer on you in an attempt to stop you from choking?”

“Yes, Professor.” Forrest replied with a smile. “I felt like quite the fool to say the least and I’d hoped no one actually noticed but I _was_ covered in butterbeer so…”

The Professor’s gaze immediately turned to Alex, sizing him up, as though waiting for him to contradict what Forrest had just said.

“Is that true, Mr. Manes?” she asked. “Were you helping Mr. Long to not choke?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Alex replied very quickly. 

Once again, her gaze shifted between the two young men. Forrest Long was a regular visitor to her office as he often butted heads with other students but he always told the truth. The reports of the incident were second hand and sketchy at best. If he believed it was an innocent accident then who was she to question it? 

“Very well,” she sighed. “You’re both free to go.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

Alex was on his feet before he’d even finished talking and started backing towards the door. Forrest hadn’t moved an inch, he seemed oddly comfortable in this office, like he may be spent too much time here. But Alex wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He hurried from the office, out the door and down the corridor. From here, he could still see the door and he decided to wait it out, believing Forrest wouldn’t be long behind him. He now had double the reason to apologize and to thank him.

*

The minutes ticked away but there was no movement along the hall. Was the professor trying to find holes in Forrest’s story? Was there a chance he could still get in trouble? He didn’t know how long he stood there, watching and waiting. When the door finally opened and Forest Long appeared, Alex didn’t know how to approach him.

“Hey!” 

His voice echoed in the hall and he could hear the nervousness in his tone but Forrest turned and smiled at him. Damn, did that boy _always_ smile? It was a nice smile, sure, but really? Who smiles _that_ much? 

“Mr. Manes.” Forrest greeted him as he approached.

“Alex,” he corrected him. “I, uh, hate being called ‘Manes’.”

“Because of your famous older brothers?”

“Famous?”

“Or is it ‘infamous’?”

“I don’t know, you tell me…”

Forrest smiled _again_ as he chuckled to himself and Alex couldn’t help chuckling too. Maybe it was just nervousness at having gotten away with being an absolute jerk to Forrest. He still hadn’t apologized yet but Forrest didn’t seem to be fishing for one.

“So, uh, about what, uh,” Alex was stammering. He _never_ stammered. What was it about Forrest that made him act like this? “I mean, about earlier?”

“Oh, you mean when you saved my life by stopping me from choking to death?” Forrest asked.

“I mean, when I was out of line and acted inappropriately. I’m sorry.”

Forrest waved his hand, like he’d done in front of the Professor, and made a non-committal half-shrug of his shoulder. He was clearly brushing off Alex’s apology.

“Do you always have such a short fuse?” He asked.

“Not _always_.”

“So I struck a nerve then?”

“You know _nothing_ about me yet were so quick to buy into rumours and conjecture-”

“Why are you so defensive? Is it such a terrible thing if people think you’re queer? It’s not a _disease_ ; it’s not _contagious_ ;”

“If being queer is _so great_ then why are you petitioning for a private and secluded, hidden place for queer students to hide and be gay together?”

“I never said it had to be hidden or secluded… Just somewhere we can go where bullies can’t get to us. Somewhere where I can hold a guy’s hand and not fear being beat up or called names. Somewhere I can curl up in an armchair with a boy in my arms and not get teased for it.”

“You wear the pride flag on your shirt, you walk around demanding people pay attention to you… You’re making yourself a target and for what?”

“So that future generations of students can hold their heads up high and be proud to be themselves!”

Alex couldn’t believe that Forrest actually thought it would be that easy. He shook his head in disbelief which seemed to get under Forrest’s skin.

“Look, I’m sorry for throwing my drink on you and… Thank you for not getting me into trouble. If the Heads of House pressed it, they could’ve cut me from tomorrow’s match or even taken me off the team entirely… so, thank you, and I promise I won’t do it again.”

Alex moved past him and started along the corridor but he could hear footsteps following him.

“So, have you reconsidered my offer?” Forrest called. Alex stopped.

“Your offer?” He repeated.

“To join the cause. I mean, you _are_ still a Quidditch Captain, even after that stunt.”

“Are you kidding me? You defended me so you could _blackmail_ me into helping you?”

“No!” Forrest shook his head in disappointment. “I defended you because I was also to blame and I didn’t want you to get into trouble but I was _asking_ in case you’d thought about it some more… The fact you immediately assumed I was trying to blackmail you… Gee, maybe you should’ve been in Slytherin with your older brothers after all.”

Alex was beginning to seethe and he wasn’t even sure why. He turned to storm off but Forrest reached out, his fingers curled around Alex’s upper arm and he immediately stopped. His touch wasn’t forceful, it was just _there_ and Alex’s heart skipped a beat.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Forrest said. He looked into his eyes and Alex could see how genuine and sincere he was being. “Sometimes I come off way too strong and I don’t mean to. Good luck with the match tomorrow; I, uh, I’ll be cheering for you.”

His heart fluttered again as Forrest released his grasp on Alex’s arm.

“Everyone cheers for us when we play Slytherin.”

Alex replied.

“I didn’t say I’d be cheering _Gryffindor_ , I said I’d be cheering _you_.” Forrest winked then moved past Alex and disappeared around the corner.

The absolute gall of Forrest Long! Alex wanted to be mad at how cocky he was but he was also grateful for how he’d handled the Professor. He started along the hall, heading back to the common room where he found Max asleep in one of the armchairs.

He immediately heard Forrest’s voice in his head, saying he dreamed of a safe space where he could _‘curl up in an armchair with a boy in my arms and not get teased for it_.’ 

Alex would often climb into Max’s lap when they were alone in the common room and he took comfort in being able to do such a thing but it was different for them… Max wasn’t gay, he was head over heels in love with Liz. But maybe, _just maybe_ , Forrest did have a point… a dream that wasn’t as crazy as it sounded.

Alex crossed the room and claimed Max’s earlier spot on the arm of the chair. He plucked the book that was open in Max’s lap up and saw the tiny red hearts he’d scribbled in the margins. Yep, Max had it bad for Liz but at least the only obstacle Max could see was that she was a Ravenclaw. He closed the book and placed it on the table then went to join his fellow sixth years in a game of exploding snap.

*

Max grilled him about his apology for the entire duration of supper but Alex refused to say a word from fear of being overheard. He looked around the Great Hall, the four House Tables stretching the length of the room. Each student was at their assigned table, no intermingling… not until dessert anyway.

Every time Alex looked over Max’s shoulder, he could see the streak of blue in Forrest’s hair. How had he been at the school for six years and never once noticed the boy with blue hair?

But his eyes scanned further along the table and there was his once best friend, Maria, giggling and flirting with a Ravenclaw boy with messy curls. Oh right, _that’s how_. 

He immediately looked down at his half-eaten pie but suddenly lost his appetite. Alex looked up at Max, muttered he was going to bed and got to his feet. He was barely at the entrance to the Great Hall when Max caught up to him.

“Max, what…?” Alex started.

“Still need help with your homework, right?” Max replied. “I believe we had a deal.”

Alex smiled and they made their way back to the common room, commandeered one of the small tables in the corner and got started on Alex’s mountain of homework.

***

After that day, Alex’s path seemed to constantly cross with that of Forrest’s. They were even in the same Herbology class… How had Alex never noticed him? 

“It’s the hair,” Max said one day, snapping Alex out of his daydream.

“What? What hair?” Alex immediately tried to act like he’d been paying attention.

“You,” Max chuckled to himself. “Your attractions… they start with the hair.”

“That is… _Not_ true!” Alex snapped but Max continued to chuckle. “I am not attracted to-”

“Forrest,” Max greeted the blue-haired boy as he approached their workstation.

“Hey,” Forrest removed his goggles as he greeted the two of them. “My shears broke, any chance I could borrow-”

“Sure, take Alex’s.”

Max picked up Alex’s shears and handed them to Forrest who smiled his thanks, cast a wink at Alex then turned and walked away.

“Why didn’t you give him _your_ shears?” Alex hissed.

“So that _you_ have a reason to talk to him when he returns them.”

“I don’t need a reason to talk to him.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Shut up!”

But Alex was blushing and he didn’t understand why. He cast his eyes around the greenhouse, even with his goggles and earmuffs, Forrest stood out in the crowd with his pride coloured earmuffs. Alex wanted to hate him for his determination to stand out in the crowd but it was kinda endearing.

No, no, no, no… Alex didn’t find Forrest endearing. No way, no how.

Yet when class was over and Forrest came wandering over to return the borrowed shears, Alex couldn’t help noticing the way his eyes lit up when he smiled, the way he made certain to give his undivided attention to the person he spoke to and when he thanked Alex for the loan of equipment, he politely offered his hand to shake.

Alex reached out and equally as politely shook Forrest’s hand but after he’d turned and walked away, Alex wished he’d taken his gloves off first so he could feel Forrest’s hand in his.

Besides, there was nothing queer about a friendly handshake. Was there?

*

That night, Alex cast a silencing charm around Max’s four poster bed then sneaked through the closed curtains. Max immediately shifted to make room for Alex in his bed, he threw back the covers and Alex scrambled in.

“What did you mean today when you said it was the hair?” Alex demanded.

“You’re attracted to guys with nice hair,” Max stated.

“That’s not true; your hair is nice and I’m not attracted to _you_.”

“You liked Michael’s curls and you’re fascinated by Forrest’s blue hair.”

“Wrong and wrong.”

“Michael said you always had your hands in his curls.”

“He… Said that… to you?” Alex slowly mulled this over.

“Believe me, I didn’t _want_ to hear it… But I don’t know, he liked talking about you.”

Alex sat up, seemingly terrified.

“Well, who _else_ did he talk to?” 

Max could hear the panic in Alex’s voice so he wrapped his arms around him to calm him down.

“Trust me when I say ‘no one’. Michael only ever overshared with me because he knew I didn’t want to hear it.”

“Max-”

“Michael is like my brother and so are you, Alex, I honestly see both of you like family _to me_ so the idea of the two of you.” He made a face that caused Alex to laugh. 

“I guess I never thought of it like that but then I _never_ used to regale you with tales of what we did in shadows.”

“And in classrooms and in the astronomy tower and… did you two _really_ sneak into the Forbidden Forest?”

“He wanted the Whomping Willow to watch.”

“Well, he always did have an exhibitionist streak.”

“I’m sorry you, uh, got caught up in our problems.” Alex whispered.

“Are you sure there’s no chance the two of you…?” Max asked.

“He’s moved on, Max, and so have I.”

Max felt that was the end of the Michael discussion but maybe he could ask about Forrest? Was there a chance Alex could like _him_?

“So, uh, what exactly have you got against Forrest anyway?”

“Nothing,” Alex replied way too quickly.

“ _Alex_ ,”

“He thinks I’m gay,”

“You _are_ gay,”

“But he doesn’t _know_ that. He just assumes and he has no right to assume anything about me.”

“Would it be so bad if you did come out to him?”

“ _Yes_!”

“Alex.”

“He’s just so… Out…” Alex said very softly. “And he… it’s like he wants everyone else to be out too, regardless of their… circumstances and situations…”

“He’s a nice guy and I think he likes you.”

“No, he doesn’t. He just… He wants me to join his cause and I just can’t do it, Max.”

“Because you don’t agree with his cause?”

“I do agree with it but I also think it’s… a lost cause. It’s a great idea on paper but it’s not practical, not with all the Kyle Valenti’s in the World.”

“And that’s your problem, Alex. You’re convinced everyone is like Kyle, like your dad, but not every student, teacher and parent at this school is a bigot and a homophobe.”

“Max, you’ve seen what my dad does to me just because he _thinks_ I’m gay, could you imagine what he’d do if I actually came out to him?”

“So… What? You’re just gonna stay in the closet until he eventually dies?”

“Can we please not talk about this anymore?”

Alex rolled over and closed his eyes, pulled the blankets up to completely cover himself, head and all. Max sighed then reached over and yanked the covers down to reveal Alex’s face.

“Alex, I get that you’re scared but you’re not alone.” He said to him.

“You have no idea what this is like for me, Max,” Alex insisted.

“You’ve been my best friend for almost six years; I helped you learn the spell to cover your bruises, I was the one who healed your broken nose _and_ your dislocated shoulder… I was the first person you came out to, crying in my bed while you feared what your dad would do to you if he ever actually found out… And the whole Michael thing? You remember I was there through it all _and_ I was the one you cried to after he broke your heart… But please, remind me again how I have no idea what _you’re_ going through.”

Alex stared up at him, tears brimming in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He simply slipped free of Max’s bed and crawled back into his own. 

Max didn’t follow, he _never_ climbed into Alex’s bed. He did try to apologize but Alex had already pulled the curtain around his own bed so Max lay in his own bed, listening to the very soft sobs of his best friend and wishing he knew how to fix it.

*****

“You did _what_?” Alex gasped in shock.

“I signed up to help Forrest’s cause.” Max repeated as he reached for a piece of toast.

“You did _what_?” Alex asked for a third time. “Max, you’re not queer.”

“So? I support his idea and not just for the queer students here… Once they get their allocated Safe Space, Forrest is gonna help me fight the bias system here to encourage the bonds of friendship between the houses. The Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry is obviously exempt because that’s been ongoing for hundreds of years but come on man, my own sister barely looks at me because of that stupid house rivalry.”

Alex looked away, unable to believe what Max was saying to him but in his haste to turn away, he found himself staring at the Ravenclaw table where Michael was laughing with Hufflepuff student Maria. He felt a wave of heartbreak as Maria climbed into Michael’s lap and immediately began kissing him.

He, once again, was immediately turned off his food and pushed the plate away. When he turned back, he could see the pity in Max’s eyes.

“Not _all_ students are as bothered by the segregation of houses as you think,” Alex whispered.

He started to get to his feet but the look on Max’s face changed from pity to fear and he stopped. Before he could ask what was wrong, he heard Liz’s voice behind him.

“Hey Alex, hey Max!” She greeted them with her trademark shining smile. “So a few of us are having some trouble with our astronomy homework and asked Professor Sinistra for some extra help. If either of you are interested, we’re meeting at the astronomy tower at 11pm tonight.”

“Thanks Liz.” Alex said before she hurried back to join her other friends. Astronomy was the one subject Alex didn’t seem to struggle with but for Max it was another story… Probably because they had class with the Ravenclaw students and Max had a difficult time concentrating whenever Liz was in his orbit.

“You have to come tonight, Alex!” Max hissed. “Please?”

“Look, I, uh, I don’t know…” he stammered.

“Come on, I’ve helped you every time you’ve fallen behind because of Quidditch practice. Now it’s your turn to help me.”

“But do we _have_ to go to the astronomy tower for me to help you?”

He wasn’t even sure why he bothered to ask because yes, Max would absolutely want to go wherever Liz was going to be. He’d stare at her all night, not take in a word of what he was meant to be learning and Alex would end up doing the assignment for him. It’s what always happened. But that was just what best friends do for each other.

*****

Every Herbology class felt like a new experience for Alex because Forrest was just _there_. Some days he had his colourful earmuffs around his neck even if they weren’t required for the day's class. Alex wasn’t staring at him, no he wasn’t, but it seemed that every time he looked up from his own workstation, his eyes met with Forrest’s and he immediately looked away.

Max was either too oblivious to notice or just too polite to say anything. That didn’t stop him from approaching Forrest after every class for an ‘update’. Alex would linger in the Greenhouse until the two of them had wandered off together before leaving himself.

On this particular afternoon, Alex pushed open the door to the Greenhouse and stepped out into the sunlight. He needed a few more minutes to collect himself so he turned to walk around the other Greenhouses. Alex was passing between Greenhouses Two and Three when he spotted two students making out against the glass. Figuring he could sneak past without either noticing him, he continued forward until he realized who they were.

Tears stung his eyes as he reached for his wand. Whispering a simple charm, he manipulated the dirt near their feet in a bid to make them trip once they parted. He took a step back and hurried away but a moment later he heard a shout and a crash. Alex didn’t move, fearing a more serious accident had occurred.

He peered around the Greenhouse in time to see Maria hurrying away, back towards the Castle. Alex waited but there was no sign of Michael so he too started in the direction of the Castle. He was almost at the main doors when he turned around and there was Michael. His robes were covered in soil and… fertilizer.

“Guerin?” Alex gasped. “What happened to you?”

“I, uh, lost my balance and fell.” Michael replied.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Just my ego and maybe my pickup skills.”

“You were… with someone…?”

“Yeah.” Michael pulled his wand from his pocket and began to syphon the fertilizer from his robes. “She, uh, got fertilizer in her hair and took off.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

Alex also pulled his wand out and started helping Michael clean his robes but Michael pulled away from him.

“I _don’t_ need your help.” Michael hissed at him.

“Michael-” Alex started.

“I’m going to shower before supper.”

Michael moved past him and through the doors into the Castle. Alex felt guilty; he hadn’t meant for _that_ to happen; all he’d wanted was for Michael to end up on his ass in the dirt… And he wouldn’t even let him help clean him off. Alex sighed and headed up to the Gryffindor common room. Max wasn’t there so Alex went to wash up, trying to get the dirt from under his fingernails but really just failing to wash away his guilt for his childish behaviour.

*****

The Christmas holidays meant the school would be practically deserted for nearly two weeks. Last year it had been a blessing as Alex and Michael had had all the privacy they’d ever need. For two weeks, they’d lived in a happy couple bubble, never once fearing someone would catch them together but this year, everything was different.

Max had gone home for the holidays with Isobel so Alex was completely alone. He’d, of course, had the option of going home himself but that wasn’t gonna happen. Two weeks of his father’s bigotry? No, thank you! 

Gryffindor tower was essentially deserted with only a handful of students remaining, none of whom Alex was particularly friendly with so on day one of his vacation, he found himself alone in the school library. The teachers had assigned a lot of homework and Alex wasn’t exactly a bad student, he just had a difficult time concentrating on things that didn’t interest him.

He spent the entire morning trying to write an essay on different antidotes and by lunch he was ready to tear up the parchment in frustration.

Alex threw his quill down and buried his face in his hands, before collapsing on the desk. Studying was so much easier with Max to help keep his focus. He felt something tap, tap, tapping on his hand and he looked up to see a paper crane nipping at his finger with its beak. He looked around but the library was still empty.

He picked up the crane and it immediately unfolded in his palm. Written on the parchment was a simple message. ‘Study break? Fancy a picnic?’

Alex looked around again just as Forrest stepped out from behind a shelf of books. He was holding a basket in his arms.

“It’s snowing outside.” Alex stated.

“I never said it was an _outdoor_ picnic.” Forrest replied. “So, are you interested or not?”

“I… Uh…”

“It’s just _food_ , okay?”

His stomach gave a low growl in favour of lunch so he nodded and packed away his books. Alex followed Forrest out of the Library and into an empty classroom. It was cold and uninviting but Forrest pulled out his wand and started throwing charms around until the fireplace was alight and the room was warm, cosy even.

He magically pushed the desks away, the basket opened and a picnic setting appeared before their eyes. Alex bit his tongue at the pattern on the picnic blanket.

Forrest sat down on the blanket, leaving a respectable distance for Alex to join him. Alex tossed his book bag aside and sat down opposite.

“Muffin?” Forrest held up a selection of muffins for Alex. He, almost shyly, reached for one.

“You, uh, didn’t go home for the holidays?” Alex asked him.

“Nah, I had too much work I wanted to do uninterrupted in the library.”

“But it’s Christmas, don’t you want to be with your family?”

“Well, by that same reasoning, why are _you_ still here?”

“Because _I_ don’t want to be with my family.” Alex took a bite of food.

“That’s fair. My parents were going away, skiing, and I’m not a fan.”

“Your parents ski?”

“They’re both muggles.”

“Right.”

“But you know what skiing is, so…?”

“My mother was a muggle too.”

“Was?”

“She died when I was ten.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.”

Alex tried to shrug it off but sometimes he couldn’t help dreaming how differently his life may have been had she not passed. He used to dream of her leaving his father and taking Alex with her. They’d live in a cottage by a lake, away from muggles _and_ wizards. He’d become a World Famous Quidditch player and spoil her for the rest of his life.

“You must miss her; I can’t begin to imagine.” Forrest reached out and placed his hand on Alex’s arm, offering him a comforting smile.

“So, you have three older brothers yeah?” Forrest tried to shift the conversation.

“Yeah.” Alex agreed. He tried to hide his disappointment when Forrest removed his hand.

“That must be a challenge, growing up in their shadows…”

“Honestly?” Alex paused. Admittedly, the one thing his father did say to him the most was why couldn’t he be more like _them_. “It’s not that bad.”

Forrest picked up the bottle of pumpkin juice and poured a glass, handed it to Alex.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” He pressed.

“Because this conversation isn’t personal enough?” Alex replied.

“Okay, what if I play you for it?” 

“Play me?”

Forrest reached into the basket and produced a deck of cards.

“Exploding snap,” he said. “If I win, I can ask you something and if you win then you ask me.”

“Sounds… fair…” Alex tried to hide his hesitation but he was surprisingly good at cards, the only hiccup being that the cards were unpredictable when they chose to explode. “Deal me in.”

*

Alex was immediately impressed with Forrest’s gaming ability but was relieved when he won the first round. Forrest looked at him, waiting for him to voice the first question but as he sat on the blanket, quietly observing Forrest, he couldn’t think of an appropriate ice-breaking question.

“Why is your hair blue?” Alex asked him.

“That’s it? That’s your _personal_ question you’re asking me?” Forrest said.

“I’m sure there’s a personal reason behind it.”

“Well… I tell people it was a decision I made over the summer, a way to… as you put it ‘draw attention to myself’ and stand out in a crowd. Before I changed my hair, no one ever noticed me.”

Alex shifted almost uncomfortably. He’d been classmates with him for nearly six years and never once took notice himself but then his eye had always been drawn elsewhere.

“But the honest truth is…” Forrest paused. “It was an accident; I was trying to invent a spell and it backfired on me. Luckily my non-muggle uncle was visiting and cast a shield spell but it clipped me and,” he pointed to his head, “this was the result… So everyone thinks it's a bad dye job when really it’s the result of my stupidity.”

“What type of spell were you trying to invent?”

“Ah, I think that might be a question for another game.” Forrest smiled.

“Fine. We’ll go again.”

Alex, of course, won the second game and immediately repeated the question. Forrest didn’t hesitate to give an answer; after all Alex had earned it.

“I was trying to invent, like a new type of invisible ink, an ink that can only be seen by certain people. Like the way our buildings are enchanted to not be seen by muggles and that.”

“You want to find a way to send messages only queer people can read.” Alex said to him.

“You got it. Imagine a safe space that only we can see, access, know where it is. They could be all over the planet and there would be signs and arrows to guide people on their way… So many teens grow up with unaccepting parents or relatives, they live in fear of being found out but imagine there was somewhere they _could_ go and be safe and accepted.”

Alex _could_ imagine it but honestly it sounded too good to be true. It was a pipe dream but at least Forrest had the imagination to think as big as he did.

“And you want to start _here_ , at Hogwarts?” Alex asked.

“Max is right about the bias between houses here but my best friend, she’s a Hufflepuff too and is too scared to hold hands with her Ravenclaw girlfriend.”

“Not every student at this school is against cross dating amongst the houses.”

“No kidding; you know that Ravenclaw Michael Guerin?” Alex’s heart skipped a beat at hearing Forrest say Michael’s name. “He’s been caught three times trying to sneak into the Hufflepuff dorm to see his girlfriend. _Three times_! Talk about desperate, huh?”

“Uh, yeah, ha,” Alex feigned a laugh.

Michael had once successfully sneaked into Gryffindor tower but he’d had the assistance of both Max and Alex. The hard part had been getting him back out the following morning. They’d broken up just days later so never got the chance to try again. He wasn’t sure how he felt knowing Michael was already trying to sneak into someone else’s bed… That Alex had clearly not been that special to him…

“You okay?” Forrest asked him.

“Uh, yeah, just… gotta give him credit for his determination.”

“Maybe he just loves being in detention?”

“Or he has a crush on Madam Aurora.”

“I should hope not;”

“Because she’s a teacher?”

“Amongst other things.” Forrest looked up, his eyes met with Alex’s and he winked. Alex frowned in confusion, not entirely understanding what he wasn’t saying.

“What are you…” Alex continued to frown.

“Hey, let’s not speculate about our lovely and charming Professor and her personal life.”

“ _You_ brought it up.”

“Well, I thought you could maybe keep a secret.”

Alex reached for his wand and tapped the deck of cards, shuffling them for another hand. Forrest had no idea how good Alex was at keeping secrets.

“Tell me after I win the next round.” Alex said to him.

But Forrest won the next hand and Alex immediately braced for his personal question. He thought he knew what to expect.

“How did your mother die?” Forrest asked.

His eyes flew up to meet Forrest’s sincere gaze. Alex swallowed and shifted on the picnic blanket. He put his wand down and folded his hands in his lap.

“Cancer.” He replied. “It, uh, it wasn’t quick.”

“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have ask-”

“No, it’s okay… She, uh, she was sick for a long time and I remember the last time we went to see her in the hospital… She was so… tiny…” he felt tears prickling his eyes. “My dad told us we weren’t allowed to cry, that we had to be strong for her but the second I saw her and she smiled at me… I just… I knew in that moment that she was going to leave me and I’d never see her again.” He swallowed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “So, of course, I started crying but she just smiled at me and pulled back the covers, she told me to climb in…”

The tears were silently streaming down his cheeks now but he still kept talking.

“I crawled into her bed and she held me in her weak arms; she said it was okay to cry and we cried together until she fell asleep then my dad physically pulled me away from her. He slapped me right there in her room for being a pathetic weakling.”

Forrest slid closer and wrapped his arm around Alex’s shoulder. He didn’t say a word, just held him until his tears subsided.

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered. “I didn’t mean to… I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry; I asked you a very personal question. Thank you for being so honest with me.”

“I’ve never told anyone that story before.” He said. “I mean, anyone but Max.”

Alex politely pulled away and reached for his pumpkin juice. He could feel Forrest’s gaze still fixed on him so took his time to sip his drink, collecting himself.

“You and Max are really close, huh?” Forrest asked.

“He’s my best friend, and has been from my first day here.” 

“How did it come to be? You two seem so different…”

“The other kids I knew from before were all sorted into different houses and I felt absolutely alone. After the welcoming feast, we were taken to Gryffindor tower and went to bed but that night I couldn’t sleep… I was… Scared and crying, it reminded me of when I lost my mother and then I heard this voice… I looked up and Max was peering through the curtains of my bed, he told me it was okay to cry… Just like she’d said to me… He said he was scared too because he’d never been so far away from his sister before and he asked me if I could maybe distract him from missing her… So I crawled into his bed and we stayed up all night talking… by morning, I felt like I’d known him forever.”

“Max is a good guy.”

“He is… Some nights, when I’m feeling low or just had a bad day, I crawl into his bed and he still tells me it’s okay to cry.”

“He really cares about you, Alex, and he’s always talking about you… If he wasn’t like the straightest straight guy to ever exist, I’d definitely be thinking he had a crush on you.”

Alex faked another laugh.

“If I were Liz Ortecho maybe,” he joked.

Forrest reached for the cards.

“You up for another round?” He asked. Alex nodded.

He won the next two games but forgot to ask about Professor Aurora until his third win. Forrest was very coy yet succinct enough for Alex to understand his meaning. Professor Aurora was queer but Forrest was one of the only students who knew as such. He didn’t press for _how_ he’d found out but knowing a faculty member was one of them definitely perked Alex up.

It was getting late so they decided on one last game before heading to the Christmas Eve Feast. When Forrest won, Alex was taken by surprise by his question.

“Why does Kyle Valenti _think_ you’re gay?” Forrest asked him.

_‘Because I am,_ ’ Alex knew that was the answer he should give but he didn’t. “Because Kyle Valenti is a jerk.” He said.

“I know _that_ but he’s rather vocal in his slander… So where did he get the idea from?”

“Well,” Alex sighed. It was an awkward story to tell. “My dad and Kyle’s dad were both students here at the same time, so were their dad’s… So, years of tradition means Kyle and I are supposed to be friends too… Every summer, our families would take a trip together and last summer, there was this muggle boy who kept trying to flirt with me and no matter what I said, he was relentless… One afternoon, I snapped and told him that I wasn’t interested because I already had a boyfriend but Kyle happened to walk in and hear me… And I spent the rest of the vacation trying to convince him it was a lie for the muggles sake.”

“Why didn’t you just tell him you had a _girl_ friend?”

“I just said I was seeing someone, _he_ assumed it was a boy and I didn’t want to stay and argue…”

“So, Kyle thinks you’re gay because he heard you tell someone you were? But it was a lie?”

Alex nodded in agreement. It hadn’t been a lie though because Alex had been seeing someone; he had had a boyfriend… But that was over now.

“Basically… And Kyle just loves the attention.”

“And because this rumour has been over your head for months, you don’t want to get involved with my cause because you think it’ll just add fuel to the fire Kyle is keeping burning.”

“Uh, yeah.” Alex agreed.

“So why haven’t you found yourself a girlfriend to put the rumours to rest and shut Kyle up for good?”

“Because I shouldn’t have to.”

“No, I agree on that but wouldn’t it make life easier for you?”

Alex paused, thinking it over, yes, it would make things easier for him but at what cost?


	2. Chapter 2

Christmas morning saw a giant decorated tree in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. Alex sank down in front of the fire with his small collection of presents, taking his time to open and admire each one. His father had sent him parchment and a new quill, practical yet impersonal. Flint and Clay had both sent juvenile joke gifts but Greg’s present was a new pair of Quidditch gloves. Maria had sent a bag of chocolate frogs which he immediately handed over to the other boys in Gryffindor tower.

Alex’s most cherished gift was the one from Max; an autographed image of his favourite Quidditch player. He had no idea how Max had acquired it but he fought back tears.

Alex decided to go straight to the Owlery to send Max a thank you letter when he felt something nudging his hand and looked down to see a paper crane trying to bite him. He recognized it as the same type Forrest had set on him the previous day. He reached for it and the crane unfolded, a pin dropped into his hand and he realized it was his Captain’s badge.

‘You dropped this yesterday, didn’t want you thinking you’d lost it. Have a great day -Forrest’

He read the note three times. A part of him was embarrassed; he wore the badge under his jacket or robes every day because he was proud of his achievement but didn’t like to advertise or brag about it… So now Forrest knew he wore it and had found it… But he was returning it because he was a nice guy. He was kinda pushy in a ‘look at me’ way but he was genuine. When Alex had been upset, Forrest had offered him comfort; hadn’t laughed at him for being emotionally weak and now he was returning his lost property.

Alex sighed as he climbed to his feet, he was going to have to send two thank you letters now. He grabbed his new scarf, draped it around his neck and headed for the portrait entrance of the tower. The castle was completely decked out for the holiday and Alex wanted to enjoy it but nothing felt the same anymore.

He was climbing the stairs to the owlery when he spied someone on their way down. His heart skipped a beat when he realized it was Forrest.

“Hey Alex!” Forrest greeted him as they met on the staircase. 

“Hey, hi,” Alex replied.

“Happy Christmas,”

“Right, yeah, you too.”

“So, what brings you up here today?”

“I, uh, was gonna send a letter.”

“Well, duh… A Christmas message home? It’s what I was doing. My parents love the novelty of owl post.”

“Um, I was gonna write to Max and thank him for my present.” 

“The new scarf?” Forrest nodded to his neck, reached over to touch it.

“Nah, this was from Liz, but I was gonna write to you too… To thank you for returning my badge.”

“It’s nothing; I mean, I didn’t even notice you wearing it yesterday but it must’ve dropped into the basket when we were packing up.”

“Well however it happened, thank you for finding and returning it.”

“Anytime.”

“So… Guess I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Guess so.”

“Okay, uh, bye.”

“Bye, Alex.”

He immediately hurried up the staircase and into the privacy of the owlery. He wasn’t even sure why he’d been in such a hurry to get away but he breathed a sigh of relief as he moved to the cupboard and grabbed some parchment and a quill. 

Alex wanted to tell Max all about his picnic with Forrest but it seemed too… intimate to write in a letter. Besides, all they’d done was play snap. He kept it brief, thanked Max for the gift then wished him and his family a happy Christmas.

The owlery was freezing and even with his new scarf by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, his fingers were numb from the cold and his teeth were chattering.

“Alex?”

He spun around and was genuinely shocked to find Forrest there, seemingly waiting for him.

“Forrest.” He greeted him.

“This may be a little forward of me but I have a present for you.”

“Forr-”

“Don’t read into it, okay? It’s not even anything material… But you have to trust me and come with me right now because I don’t think we’ll have long.”

Alex was utterly terrified but Forrest smiled at him and held his gaze. He felt himself moving closer to him, ready to follow wherever he planned to take him.

When Forrest slid his arm around him, Alex didn’t flinch away, nor was he afraid of someone seeing them. He felt a rush, not unlike the one he experienced whenever Michael had touched him.

They moved through the castle but Alex had no idea where Forrest was taking him.

“You have three older brothers’, yeah?” Forrest asked while they walked.

“Yeah.”

“But you weren’t all in the same house?”

“No; my father and his father and his… well you get it, were all Slytherin. It was a given the four of us would be too and dad used to drill into us that once the four of us were all here, in Slytherin together, we’d be a force to be reckoned with… But that was smashed when Greg was sorted into Hufflepuff. Dad was furious when he got Greg’s letter and he be-“

Alex paused. Did he really want Forrest to know his father had beaten all three of them as punishment for Greg’s apparent betrayal to the family?

“But once Flint and Clay got here and were sorted into Slytherin, dad figured it was just something _wrong_ with Greg… It all went to crap the day I started here and was put into Gryffindor… I mean, it made dad hate Greg less… He was much more accepting of a Hufflepuff in the family than a Gryffindor.”

Forrest stopped walking and just stared at Alex with a mixed expression on his face.

“I, uh, I’m sorry I don’t know what to say to that.” He said.

Alex appreciated Forrest’s honesty and simply shrugged his shoulder to indicate it was no big deal. He was used to being the family outcast, his father’s greatest disappointment. He’d spent six years dealing with it.

“Though I, uh, guess that explains the, uh, infamous Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Slytherin back in the day… The older students used to talk about it _all the time_ … Like before every Hufflepuff game… Always hoping to maybe top that one.”

“Greg ended up in the hospital wing for a week.” Alex said.

“But he _won_ the match _and_ the Quidditch Cup. It was the last time Hufflepuff won the Cup too.”

“Hey, your team is pretty tough now… They definitely put us through our paces.”

“Yeah but our Captain isn’t as good as you.” Forrest paused. “Just, uh, don’t tell him I said that.”

Alex laughed and promised it was another secret he’d never divulge to anyone. He did seem to be raking up the secrets these days

They passed the entrance to the kitchens and Alex realized Forrest was guiding him towards the Hufflepuff dormitory. He started to protest but stopped, kinda curious about it… Especially knowing Michael had been caught trying to sneak in.

Once they reached a pile of barrels, Forrest asked Alex to cover his eyes and he did. He listened to the tap of his wand in a rhythm then heard a doorway open. Forrest reached for Alex’s hand and guided him up a passageway into a cosy room with low ceilings.

He tried not to gawk since it wasn’t that dissimilar to the Gryffindor one but it still felt _different_ with its gold and black colouring, wooden tables and many, many plants.

He knew he shouldn’t be here yet there were no other students around. It was Christmas day; they were home with their families or off celebrating elsewhere. Alex looked around in awe; this was where Greg had felt most at home for seven years and he could absolutely picture his older brother lounging by the fire, doing his homework, practicing spells with fellow students.

His eye was drawn to the portrait on the mantle of Helga Hufflepuff. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to stare.” Alex apologized.

“Nah, it’s cute.” Forrest replied. “But I actually have a secret to show you, something you can’t tell anyone about.”

“You just love throwing all these secrets at me, don’t you?”

“I really think you’re going to like _this one._ ”

Forrest pulled out his wand and muttered an incantation. The flames in the fireplace changed colour and Alex wondered if they were about to travel through the floo network but Forrest moved forward, reaching into the flames. Alex lunged toward him, grabbed his arm.

“No!” Alex cried. “You’ll burn yourself.”

“It’s fine.” Forrest assured him. He took Alex’s hand and guided it into the flames. It tickled his skin but didn’t burn. Forrest touched the back of the fireplace and a round door opened. He crawled through and told Alex to follow him.

Alex scrambled through the fire and found himself in a small, dark, round room. He couldn’t see a thing.

“This is a Hufflepuff secret, started by Helga Hufflepuff herself.” Forrest explained. “Any student who discovered this hidden room, would write their heart's desire on the wall for future students to see.”

“Have you written something?” Alex asked. “I can’t see anything at all.”

“Not yet; I need to get the wording just right.” He said. “And the words only appear if you ask them to.”

He grasped his wand and asked to see messages written in the past twelve months.

Words shimmered upon the walls in bright yellow and Alex gasped. It was beautiful to see.

“Obviously not every student found it or wanted to add to the writing but…” Forrest paused. “I found this and…”

Alex couldn’t see Forrest but his voice sounded strange, like he had a head cold or something.

“Show me the messages written by the seventh-year students three years ago.” Forrest said.

The writing changed but only revealed three messages. The date and the students name was underneath the message. Seeing his brother’s name in shimmering yellow text brought tears to his eyes.

Greg’s words were simple and direct. His heart’s desire was ‘to protect my baby brother, Alex, from our father and one day set us all free’.

He couldn’t hold them back, the tears silently trailing down his cheeks. Alex tried to blink them away but failed. He took a step, trying to find the way back out through the fire and accidentally knocked into Forrest. 

“I have to go, I’m sorry…” Alex gasped. “I’m sorry.”

“Alex, it’s okay,” Forrest grabbed his arm and tried to stop him but Alex’s eyes focused on the shimmering words and watched as they slowly faded before his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Alex slowly pulled away from Forrest’s touch and drew a breath to collect himself.

“No… I, uh, thank you for showing me this.” Alex whispered.

“Really, I didn’t mean to-”

“You didn’t… Can we, uh, go now?”

“Sure.”

The room was still pitch dark but he heard a rustling as Forrest took out his wand and opened the round door. He guided the way back to the common room and was relieved to find it still empty. Alex sank down in the nearest chair; his hands were shaking. Forrest sat down beside him and placed his hand on his shoulder; Alex reached up and put his hand on top of Forrest’s. Neither moved for some time.

“Thank you,” Alex whispered. 

“You’re welcome, Alex.” He replied.

“I, uh, wish I had a gift for you but I wasn’t, uh-”

“Alex, I didn’t do this for recognition, I just thought you should see what your brother wrote about you and his dreams.”

“Thanks… But I should probably go and get ready for lunch.”

“I’ll, uh, walk you out to make sure you don’t get caught.”

Neither of them said another word as they headed down the tunnel to the entrance. Forrest opened the door and Alex brushed past him. They paused and looked at each other. He wished he could think of a way to thank Forrest for his kindness but nothing could compare to the gift he’d just received.

“Uh, see you at lunch.” Alex said.

He turned and hurried away, past the kitchens, mentally kicking himself for not thinking of anything more meaningful to say.

***

Alex didn’t go down for lunch because he couldn’t stomach any food but by supper, he was hungry enough to make an appearance. The house tables had been removed in favour of smaller ones due to the smaller amount of students remaining over the holidays.

He couldn’t help noticing that despite the small number of students, they were still huddled in their house groups rather than mingling. Alex moved towards the small Gryffindor table and sat down. He kept his head low, not wanting to make eye contact with Forrest.

Alex was the first to leave the hall before desert was even served. When he retired for the night, he didn’t climb into his own bed but into Max’s. Sure, his friend wasn’t there but he drew comfort in pretending he was. He wanted so badly to tell Max about Greg’s message but he couldn’t, not without admitting he’d been in the Hufflepuff dorm.

He buried his face in Max’s pillow but before he could drift off to sleep, he felt the familiar nip of a paper crane and opened his eyes to find one nudging his hand. It opened at his touch and the note inside from Forrest caused his stomach to twist.

‘I’m sorry if I ruined your Christmas. Please forgive me -Forrest’

Alex reached for a quill and scribbled a response on the back. The crane magically folded in on itself and flew away, taking Alex’s response back to the sender. He lay back down, hugged the pillow again and stood by what he’d written. His Christmas _hadn’t_ been ruined; Forrest had given him the most sentimental gift he’d ever received.

*****

Alex spent the next few days essentially hiding in Gryffindor tower. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Forrest, it was more he wasn’t sure how to act around him now. He felt embarrassed that he’d cried in front of him after reading his brother's words and he couldn’t lie his way around it. Forrest knew he’d cried; he’d shown weakness in front of him… The only person Alex ever allowed himself to cry in front of, be vulnerable around was Max.

So, he took refuge in the common room and spent two days living off the food gifts he’d gotten for Christmas before surrendering and sneaking food from the kitchen on day three. That had been stressful given the close proximity of the Hufflepuff dormitory to the Kitchens but he succeeded in securing a meal for himself.

By the time he finally conceded and re-joined his fellow students at meal times, he was surprised to notice Forrest missed breakfast that first morning. Feeling sort of relieved, Alex pulled on some extra layers of clothing along with his new scarf and grabbed his broom.

It was very chilly and the snow on the ground made the Castle look like a beautiful painting. He trudged all the way down to the Quidditch pitch then mounted his broom. Alex flew higher and higher, the cold wind stinging his face but making him smile. It had been too long since he’d last been on a broom. He zigzagged all over the pitch, breaking in his new gloves and clutching his broom.

After some time his face began to feel numb from the cold but he didn’t want to stop. A slight movement in the stands caught his eye and he swerved towards it to investigate but as he flew closer, by the time he realized what, or who, it was, it was too late for him to turn away.

Alex hovered on his broom just above the stand. Forrest was decked out in several more layers of clothing than Alex was but he knew it was him thanks to the pride colours on his scarf. He removed the scarf and beanie so Alex could see him better and he smiled.

“You must be freezing up there.” Forrest said.

“You must be too,” Alex replied.

“Nah, portable fire.”

Forrest nodded to the seat beside him and Alex saw a small blue flame inside a jar.

“That’s… nifty,” Alex said to him.

“Come sit down for a bit, it’s warmer than it looks.”

Alex hesitated, lingering on his broom. He watched as Forrest reached into his trusty picnic basket, pulled out a flask and two mugs.

“Hot chocolate?” Forrest offered a mug to him.

He smiled and brought his broom closer, flew to the back of the stand and stepped off onto the row of seats. Alex walked to the front, placed his broom aside and sat down beside Forrest as he poured the warm liquid into the two mugs. 

“Is being a good flier a family trait?” Forrest asked while handing him a mug.

“I’m sorry?” Alex frowned.

“Well, you and your brothers all made the house Quidditch teams, right? And Greg was Captain of the Hufflepuff team for three years. You’re heading that way yourself, second year Captain?”

“You seem to know a lot about my family…”

“I told you,” Forrest laughed. “Everyone knows about the infamous match between Hufflepuff and Slytherin… where Greg won the match _and_ the cup from under his brother’s noses.”

“It was the _team_ that won,”

“A team is only as good as its captain; if the players don’t respect and listen to the Captain, it all falls apart.”

Alex didn’t know what to say so he raised the mug to his lips and began to sip his drink. He was certain he’d lose the respect of his team if they knew the truth about him… Unless he wasn’t giving them enough credit. He’d known his team mates for a long time and they _did_ listen to him because he was a good Captain but would they turn on him? Best not to think about it.

Despite the thick gloves, the warmth of the mug in his hands and the liquid in his throat helped to warm him. He did move just a little closer to the flames in the jar which added extra warmth.

“So, you’ve been avoiding me,” Forrest cut straight to it.

“What?” Alex choked on his hot chocolate.

“After what I showed you in the Hufflepuff dorm, you’ve been avoiding me and it kinda hurts my feelings.”

“I’m sorry,” Alex immediately apologized.

“Well, at least you admit it. Most people would have a lame excuse.”

“I was embarrassed, okay? Embarrassed that I cried in front of you.”

But Forrest merely laughed, shaking his head in disbelief before taking a sip of his own drink.

“That’s it? You avoided me because your macho side crumbled for five minutes?” He paused. “Because being vulnerable means showing a weakness?”

“Something like that.” Alex confessed, averting his eyes.

“Your brother’s message was beautiful. I don’t think any less of you because it affected you… that it _meant_ something to you. If anything, your reaction just showed me I did the right thing in letting you see it.”

“Really?” Alex looked up at Forrest, at the sincerity in his gaze.

“I could’ve gotten in serious trouble for sneaking you in there if we’d gotten caught but I truly felt it was important that you see it for yourself… I mean, obviously your brother never intended for you to see it but… Look, if it were me then _I_ would’ve wanted to know about it.” He shrugged. “Maybe I just over thought it.”

Alex reached out with his free hand and grabbed Forrest’s forearm. Forrest looked down at Alex’s gloved hand before trailing up to meet his eyes. They looked at each other for a beat.

“I meant what I wrote on that crane,” Alex insisted. “What you did for me, it was the best Christmas gift I’ve ever been given and I’m sorry if I didn’t show my appreciation the way I should’ve.”

“Alex, I told you it wasn’t about appreciation. I just knew it would be important to you.”

Alex’s lips curled into a smile and Forrest smiled back at him. When Forrest reached up to touch Alex’s hand, he immediately retracted it and grabbed his mug with both hands. He didn’t see the hurt look on Forrest’s face and Forrest would’ve denied making it if Alex had seen.

“You don’t have to be squeamish around me, you know?” Forrest stated as he slid away.

“What?” Alex replied defensively.

“The bullshit belief that because I’m gay and you’re straight, we can’t be friends because I’ll just be lying in wait to hit on you.” 

“I have never believed that!”

He was very close to calling Forrest out. Max was his best friend and _he_ didn’t care that Alex was gay nor did it bother him Michael was bisexual. Max had only been squeamish at them being all over each other in front of him… not that they’d done that often. His friendship with Max was proof that bullshit reasoning _was_ absolute bullshit. But Alex could only admit that by telling Forrest the truth and he wasn’t ready for that… Not yet.

“So why do you look terrified every time I touch you?” Forrest pressed.

He wanted to deny it but he honestly wasn’t sure because he wasn’t _terrified_ of Forrest touching him, he was terrified that a part of him liked it. Maybe a half-truth was what he needed to share right now.

“It’s not you, Forrest,” Alex admitted. “It’s me. I know it’s so cliche but it’s true. I never really knew a… friendly touch. My father was strict and physical affection wasn’t tolerated… and that’s why Greg’s message just got to me. It never occurred to me that my brothers were as… starved for affection as I was.” He averted his eyes again. “I think that’s why Max’s friendship means so much to me because he never held back; he was always so used to comforting others that he just transferred that to me at a time when I _really_ needed it.”

“Sorry-”

“No, don’t be… This is all on me,” Alex said. “But I can make it up to you.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

“Call it common courtesy then.”

Alex grabbed his broom and offered his hand to Forrest.

“Well... Come on,” Alex said to him.

“Come? Where?” Forrest frowned.

Alex chuckled and mounted his broom then looked at Forrest again.

“Get on, silly,” Alex instructed. “And I’ll show you my flying skills.”

“Can’t I appreciate them more from here?” Forrest asked with a nervous hitch in his voice.

“You have ridden before, haven’t you?”

“Only in class and I was pretty terrible at it.” He admitted.

Alex smiled and reached for his hand again.

“I promise you can trust me; I won’t let you fall.” He said while Forrest continued to shift nervously from foot to foot. “Forrest, trust me.”

“I’m sorry… I just…” his eyes shifted to the broom. “I don’t think I can.”

“Is it me or the broom you can’t trust?”

Forrest’s eyes shot up to meet Alex’s.

“The broom. I fell off in class and broke my wrist… Haven’t ridden since,” he said.

Alex nodded in understanding and slid off the broom himself. He moved closer to Forrest and held it out to him, urging him to take it. Forrest reached over and grasped it in his hands.

“This doesn’t seem very safe up here,” Forrest said.

“The ground is covered in plenty of snow to break your fall,” He looked at Alex in shock but Alex laughed. “I’m joking! I told you, I won’t let you fall.”

“Alex-”

“I promise, sit on the broom just once and that’s it.”

He waited, convinced Forrest would decline. If he did again then Alex would drop it, and wasn't going to pressure him. Forrest grasped the broom and climbed on. It hovered about waist high above the stands, should he fall, Alex was close enough to catch him.

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Forrest said as he lowered the broom closer to the ground. “Unless you’re gonna get on here with me?”

“Well, that was the plan but not if you don’t want me to.”

Alex observed as Forrest appeared to mull it over, clearly torn between wanting to get off the broom and wanting Alex to get on.

“Get on before I lose my nerve!” Forrest hissed.

Alex grinned and climbed on in front of him. He adjusted himself into a comfortable sitting position and grabbed the stick. He craned his neck towards Forrest and instructed him to ‘hold on tight’ but Forrest didn’t move. He realized that despite their little talk, Forrest still wasn’t sure about touching him. He held back a sigh then reached out, grabbed both of Forrest’s arms and wrapped them around his waist while repeating the ‘hold on tight’ instructions.

He was suddenly very aware of Forrest’s arms around him and told himself to breathe, to relax, to concentrate on _not_ crashing into the ground or the goal post. Once they were far enough above the stands, his natural flying instincts kicked in and he was able to focus again. As he swerved and darted around the pitch, feeling free and completely at home, he forgot all about Forrest. The arms around his waist quickly became comforting and familiar as Forrest held onto him but even his grasp was no longer tense and full of fear… Forrest was actually enjoying himself.

They looped the pitch several times before Alex turned into a dive, taking them right down to the snow below. If Forrest was scared, he didn’t vocalize it but he did cling to Alex that little bit tighter until he pulled up at the last minute. Once they were clear of the ground and hovering near the goalposts again, he felt Forrest’s body trembling and wondered if he’d gone too far. Alex turned his head and was surprised to see he was _laughing_. His blue hair was billowing in the cold air but his face was lit up in delight.

Snow was beginning to fall again, to the point it was almost romantic… If Alex thought of it that way… Which he _didn’t_. He turned the broom back towards the stands so Forrest could collect his portable flame and the mugs. Alex guided the broom just right and landed at the back of the stands to make it easier to dismount but as Forrest pressed closer to him, he felt something unexpected happening to his own body and involuntarily jolted away. This caused them both to stumble off the broom but luckily, they landed on the stands. Alex immediately reached for his broom to make sure he hadn’t broken it and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned to look at Forrest who was gazing at him, almost daring him to say something but he wasn’t going to utter a word. 

“Uh, I’m sorry about that,” Alex stammered. “The snow, uh, threw off my balance and… Uh…”

Forrest exhaled in disbelief, shaking his head from side to side. He turned his back on Alex and jumped down the rows of seats to grab his belongings. He pulled his wand and collected everything in one swoop, shoved it all into a bag that Alex hadn’t seen before… Also adorned with the colours of the Pride flag.

“Save it, Alex,” Forrest said to him. “You’re a good-looking guy and being on that broom with you, it was exciting and terrifying… So what if my body can’t tell the difference?”

“What?” Alex frowned. He had no idea what Forrest was saying.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Alex. You’re uncomfortable that I got turned on, but you know what? We’re both guys and it happens all the time so don’t flatter yourself thinking I’m actually into you and your macho-yet-sensitive straight boy ass.”

Forrest grabbed his things and pushed right past Alex, hurrying down the stairs two steps at a time. He watched in utter confusion as Forrest ran away from him. He still had no idea what the other boy had been talking about… _He’d_ gotten turned on from that? Was he fucking with Alex? No, there’d been a harshness in his eyes that showed he wasn’t lying, he was upset at Alex’s reaction…

He sighed. Forrest thought Alex had freaked out and pulled away from him because he’d felt something from Forrest but that wasn’t the case at all… Alex had pulled away, sent them both flying from the broom because of a reaction in his own body. He sank down on the nearest seat, his broom on the ground at his feet and he buried his face in his hands. 

He didn’t cry though, not this time. Forrest Long wasn’t worth his tears… Or was he? 

*****

Alex, once again, took refuge in Gryffindor Tower over the next few days and didn’t join any of the other students for the New Year’s Eve Celebrations from fear of maybe awkwardly running into Forrest. He genuinely felt bad though he’d only accidentally hurt his feelings; he honestly hadn’t been aware of the effect he’d had on the other boy though if he had, he couldn’t honestly say he wouldn’t have reacted the way he had.

He spent New Year’s curled up in Max’s bed, reading a book about his favourite Quidditch team and waiting for an owl to bring a response to his last letter… Which had been an entire parchment of him not talking about Forrest because he still hadn’t told Max how much time he’d been spending with the Hufflepuff boy. He’d kept it to himself from fear Max would start asking if he planned to join Forrest’s cause for equality.

January 1st saw the return of the rest of the student body and Alex was beyond relieved to have more company, although he was mostly just happy to have Max back. He was polite enough to wait in the dorm for Max but the second he walked through the door, Alex hugged him and refused to let him go, insisting Max wasn’t allowed to go home for the Easter Holidays now. 

But Max was used to Alex’s clinginess; he actually looked forward to it each time he came back to school after a holiday. Max believed it was good for them to have _some_ time apart during the school year but he was fortunate enough to have a loving supportive family who actually wanted him home during the holidays. He didn’t tell Alex as much, but he was hopeful Alex would come home with him for Easter.

When Alex finally released Max from his very desperate hug, Max retreated to his own bed and threw back the curtains to find the safety cocoon Alex had built for himself in Max’s absence. He sighed though he was smiling to himself.

“You been sleeping in my bed again?” Max asked him.

He watched as Alex’s cheeks flushed and he hurried forward to grab his book and other belongings. Max reached out and grabbed Alex’s arm to stop him.

“You know I don’t care,” he said. “But are you okay? You only sleep in my bed when something is wrong or bothering you.”

“It was a long week is all,” Alex shrugged. “Nearly everyone was gone and the castle was so quiet.”

“Did you at least get a chance to talk to Forrest? He was still here and probably the only one in Hufflepuff for the week.”

Alex turned and grabbed his stuff to avoid answering but with his back to Max, he spoke.

“Our paths crossed a few times,” he wasn’t lying. “How do you know he was still here?”

“He told me; said he was staying on to do some research in the library and I said you’d probably be living there with everyone away.”

“You… talk to him… about me?” 

“Alex, you’re my best friend so of course you’re gonna come up in conversation from time to time.”

“Oh, right.”

He threw his belongings down on his own bed then slowly began to put them away but he could feel Max’s eyes watching his every movement.

“Did something happen over the break?” Max asked.

“What? No, of course not,” Alex hated lying to Max but he wasn’t ready to tell him just yet… mostly because he still wasn’t sure what had happened himself. Were he and Forrest _friends_ now?

“So, you need me to go over your homework before classes tomorrow?” Max tried to shift the conversation. Alex panicked. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on schoolwork for days.

“Yes, please,” he whispered. Max smiled.

“Come on,” Max sat down on his bed and petted the mattress, inviting Alex to join him. 

Alex’s face broke into a wide grin. He grabbed his school books and scrambled onto the bed with Max. Together they poured over Alex’s homework until break then they joined their fellow students heading to the Great Hall for lunch. With the hustle and bustle all around him, Alex tried not to think about Forrest Long.

He tried.

He _really_ did but Alex failed miserably.

*

Classes started again the following morning and Alex would’ve been happy had his first lesson _not_ been Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. As he trudged down the stairs to the hall for breakfast, he noticed a few students in the Entrance Hall, pointing at the suits of armour.

Alex stopped and tried to see what they were giggling at. He moved closer and his jaw dropped. Someone had been busy; every suit of armour in the hall had a pride flag painted in the middle of its chest. He had no doubt in his mind who was responsible. It was the _first day_ back and Forrest was already stirring up trouble.

But when Alex walked into the hall, he didn’t hear a word from anyone about the very obvious graffiti. Even when the headmaster gave a brief speech, wishing the students a happy new year, he didn’t call for the student responsible to step forward. Perhaps it was because he knew who was responsible?

Max was at his side as they left the hall and Alex couldn’t resist asking if the suits of armour looked normal to him. Max peered at them and shrugged, insisting they were fine. Once they reached the greenhouse, it dawned on Alex. Forrest had been perfecting a spell that was only visible to queer people. Had he succeeded?

But Alex couldn’t ask him without showing his hand. If he told Forrest that he could see the graffiti then he’d be outing himself to the other boy and once Forrest learned he was gay, he’d definitely try harder to recruit him to his cause.

The Professor decided to test Alex’s patience by splitting the class into assigned groups which saw Max and Forrest working together while Alex was stuck with Maria. Normally he could just pretend she didn’t exist but being forced to work with her for an entire class was excruciating. 

It didn’t help that she didn’t know the full history of his relationship with Michael. As far as Maria knew, Alex had _thought_ he might be gay and kissed Michael to find out before deciding he was definitely straight. That was the official story Michael had told Maria and Alex hadn’t been brave enough to tell her the truth, that he is gay and was head over heels in love with Michael.

“Did you like your Christmas present, Alex?” Maria asked him. “I know they’re your favourites.”

“Actually they’re not,” he confessed. “You just _think_ they are because someone told you… You never once asked me yourself.”

Maria pursed her lips.

“Professor?” Maria turned and asked. “May I be excused to go to the hospital wing?”

“Are you not feeling well?”

“No ma’am,”

“It’s the first day back, Miss Deluca.”

“I’m sorry, professor, it must’ve been something I ate last night.”

Alex watched as the Professor mulled it over before finally letting Maria go. As she packed up her things, she leaned closer to Alex and whispered in his ear what she’d been feasting on the previous night and he felt an uncomfortable chill through his entire body but he maintained a straight face until after she left.

“Everything okay?”

Forrest’s voice was the last thing he wanted to hear but it actually brought him a touch of comfort, knowing the boy clearly didn’t hold a grudge against him for his behaviour on the Quidditch pitch that day. If he had, he wouldn’t even be looking at Alex right now, much less be asking after him.

“Uh, yeah,” Alex lied.

“She’s an… interesting one… isn’t she?” Forrest asked. “I overheard her bragging about what her and her boyfriend got up to last night but between you and me… well, let’s just say kudos to her for what she’s willing to put in her mouth, or should I say _who_?”

Alex nodded because he wasn’t sure what to say to that. He couldn’t say he’d put the same thing in _his_ mouth many times last year.

“Do you need help finishing up here?” Forrest asked.

“No, thank you, I’m good.”

“Good.”

“Uh, Forrest? About the other day, on the Quidditch pitch… I’m sorry.”

Forrest smiled at him.

“Forget about it, _I_ already have.” He shrugged and wandered back over to Max. Alex turned back to his workstation. 

Despite what Maria had said to him, Alex couldn’t help smiling to himself. He just didn’t understand _why_. He turned and looked at Forrest, with his pride coloured earmuffs and blue hair, and he smiled again. Alex didn’t think about Maria again for the rest of the day.

***

Over the following weeks, more and more selective graffiti began to appear all over the castle but nothing was verbally said amongst the staff or the students. Alex knew he couldn’t say anything from fear of outing himself which was why he still didn’t ask Forrest about it. He _was_ curious how he was getting it done without being caught or punished though. He didn’t say a word to Max but Max didn’t bring it up either which made him wonder if he knew what Forrest was doing.

Each time Alex saw a new hint of graffiti, he pretended he couldn’t see it but he did try to keep an eye on other students, trying to gauge if _they_ could see it too. Whatever magic Forrest had mastered, it either faded or he would sneak back later to remove it. Either way, he still never appeared to get in trouble for it.

*

It was early one morning when Alex stirred and buried his face deeper into Max’s pillow. He felt his friend shift beside him then something unexpected was pressing into his side. A wave of panic washed over Alex and his eyes flew open, he started trying to get away but was tangled in the blanket. He only settled when Max reached out and stopped him.

“Just ignore it, it’ll go away,” he muttered.

“Max!” Alex gasped. “Why are you…?”

“Alex,” Max whined. “It’s too early for-”

“Max,” he whispered. “What is _wrong_ with you?”

“I was sleeping, dreaming about Liz; I’m a teenage boy, okay? It happens _all the time,_ just not usually when you’re sleeping next to me.”

“Fuck, Max, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, uh, embarrass-”

“Alex, you’re the only one bothered by this. Come on, tell me what’s going on with you? Is it Michael and Maria?”

“Did you know he got caught trying to sneak into the Hufflepuff dorm?” Alex asked him. 

“Uh, yeah; three times, last I heard but how did you hear about it?”

“It’s a school, kids talk and gossip travels fast.”

“Oh.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I, well, I didn’t want to upset you… There was a time when he used to sneak in here and I didn’t want to stir up those feelings again.”

“You do know I’m over him, right?”

“He was your first love; you might never be over him.”

“Max-”

“Hey look, all this talk of Michael scared my little friend away!”

Alex began to blush at how blasé Max was about his body and his morning erection. He’d only ever woken up hard after a dream about Michael or when the other boy had been in his bed; he was grateful it had never happened to _him_ in Max’s bed and he silently prayed it never would.

“You know,” Max continued. “For a teenage boy, you get really weirded out about… natural bodily reactions to stuff.”

“Tell me about it,” Alex sighed. “Over the Christmas break I… well, my body reacted unexpectedly to something and I didn’t know how to feel about it.”

“On Boxing day, I got an owl from Liz and just looking at her handwriting was enough to set me off. I had to leave the breakfast table to get myself in check. Honestly, I’ve always admired your resolve, your ability to… you know… not react…? What’s your secret?”

“Fear,” he whispered. “Of getting caught, of messing up and being beaten by my father. It was just… different… with Michael though.”

“Because you loved him?”

“Yeah… I don’t know, I guess my body and it’s reactions are just as messed up as I am.”

“You are _not_ messed up, Alex, you hear me?”

“So you’re saying that a guy getting hard around another guy, doesn’t mean he’s like interested in him or anything then?”

“Depends on the guy I suppose… Because _I_ am definitely _not_ aroused by you being in my bed.”

“Uh… Thanks?” Alex frowned but Max was smiling.

Alex still took that as a sign to crawl back into his own bed, less he overstayed and gave their fellow Gryffindor students reason to gossip.

***

Max had promised to help Alex with his homework after Quidditch practice but when he returned to the Gryffindor common room, Max wasn’t there. Thinking he’d gotten the meeting place mixed up, Alex headed to the Library where he found Max sitting at a small table with Forrest. He didn’t want to interrupt but he saw the heart eyes Max was shooting across the room at Liz so he sneaked behind the nearest bookshelf and casually eavesdropped on their conversation.

“….ever going to ask her out?” He heard Forrest ask Max.

“Her? Who?” Max played dumb.

“Come on, Max. The entire school knows you’re in love with Liz and it’s pretty clear she’s into you, too.”

“Nah.”

“Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, I’m sure she’d love a card or something?”

“She wouldn’t, not from me anyway and I’m… happy being single.”

“You are? Really?” Forrest’s voice was filled with disbelief.

“It’s not that simple, okay? I can’t do that to Alex.”

“Do what? Ask her out? Does Alex like Liz too?”

“No, they’re just friends… I mean, I can’t have a girlfriend and leave him on his own. He needs me.”

“I think you’re underestimating Alex there.”

“Alex is the most amazing person I know. He’s my best friend and I would step in front of a killing curse for him without hesitation… But I don’t think he realizes that because… every friend he’s ever been close to, has basically hurt him. Kyle turned into a grade A asshole, Liz gets so invested in her study that the rest of the world kinda slips away and she wasn’t there at a time he needed her then earlier this year, he and Maria had a massive falling out that they may never recover from and… I just need Alex to know that I’ll always be there for him, no matter what.”

“He knows that, Max,” Forrest replied, his voice equally as hushed as Max’s. “I mean, would he be climbing into your bed at night if he didn’t think he could count on you?”

“Wait, you know about that? _How_ do you know about that?”

Alex held his breath, hearing the panic in Max’s voice. He felt a hint of fear himself… How many people had Forrest told _that_ to?

“We, uh, over Christmas break... We played exploding snap and traded secrets when we lost. It was a long week, okay?” Forrest said. “But damn he has great reflexes so, needless to say, he won most of the time… His secrets are locked up tighter than a Gringotts vault.”

“Anyway, speaking of Alex, I should get going because I’m supposed to help him with his homework.”

“ _You’re_ helping _him_? Max, you’re terrible at schoolwork!”

Max laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah, I know,” he agreed. “But it’s just something we do. It’s more a tradition, I mostly just make sure he didn’t miss any questions is all.”

“He’s lucky to have a friend like you, Max, but believe me, he _knows_ that.”

Alex peered around the books, watched as Max and Forrest fist bumped their goodbye then Max grabbed his books and walked away. He stayed put, just watching Forrest as he pulled his want and tapped a parchment of paper. It folded itself into a crane and flew away.

But it didn’t come find him; Alex couldn’t help wondering who else Forrest was sending magic paper cranes to. A part of him didn’t want to know… But a greater part of him did.

***

Valentine’s Day wasn’t something Alex was looking forward to. Seeing all the happy couples, holding hands and smiling adoringly at each other… The idea made him feel queasy. Maybe it was because he didn’t have the luxury; he’d never once been able to publicly climb into Michael’s lap and dry hump him in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast but it was the first thing he saw when he walked in that morning… Maria and Michael acting like they were the only two people in the room…

But it wasn’t just them. Many couples were making quite the show of their amorous affection for their significant other. Alex shifted his attention to the front of the Hall and frowned. Forrest was standing in front of the staff table with about twenty other students, each were holding a shimmering pride flag and a large banner that read ‘equality for all’.

Alex felt this wasn’t going to end well but Forrest simply delivered a straight to the point speech that he and his fellow students had as much right to show their affection as any other students in the Hall. 

Strangely enough, most of the students were too engrossed in their own activities to even notice but two or three others did jump up from their own seats and run to the front of the room to join Forrest and his friends, allies, groupies.

Alex couldn’t tear his eyes away from Forrest, with his pride scarf and his blue hair. But the other boy was determined to make a stand and Alex watched as he climbed onto the staff table, demanding his voice be heard. 

Then Forrest reached out a hand, pulled another Hufflepuff boy up onto the table with him and, in front of the entire school, Forrest kissed him.

Alex felt an unusual feeling sweep through his entire body as tears began to sting his eyes but he wasn’t going to cry, no he really wasn’t. He did awkwardly climb to his feet and in the melee of students cheering and catcalling, he slipped from the Great Hall and stumbled across the Entrance Hall. Alex was halfway up the stairs when someone grabbed his arm, stopping him from running away.

“Alex?” Max’s eyes were filled with concern.

“Let me go, Max, please?” Alex begged him.

“Alex, you can’t just run off every time you see Michael and Maria together.”

This made him stop struggling and he turned his body around to look into Max’s puppy dog eyes. He’d completely forgotten Maria had been in Michael’s lap, her tongue lodged in his throat.

“It’s not _them_ , Max,” Alex whispered as he blinked back fresh tears.

“Then who? Alex, did someone… Was Kyle being an ass again?”

Alex watched as Max flexed his fist, as if he’d actually storm back into the hall and hit Kyle. The idea was almost laughable but he appreciated the sentiment just the same.

“No, Max, it wasn’t Kyle or Michael… it’s nothing, it’s no one,” Alex tried to lie his way out. “It’s me,”

Max moved up a few more steps so he was closer to Alex and he looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear them.

“It’s Forrest, isn’t it?” Max asked. “His little display in there made you uncomfortable, right? Because that’s what Michael wanted you to do for him and you weren’t ready?”

Alex shifted. Max wasn’t half wrong. Michael had been weirdly adamant about wanting to be able to kiss like that in public and Alex had needed more time to be comfortable with the idea and the reality… But Michael had grown impatient and found himself someone else to publicly kiss.

“No,” Alex softly whispered. His eyes lowered, trying to hide his tears from Max. “It _wasn’t_ the kiss itself. I don’t care if two guys or two girls or anyone kiss in public and you know that, Max… It’s…”

Alex sank to his knees and sat down upon the stairs. Max immediately dropped beside him and wrapped his arm around Alex’s shoulder.

“It’s Forrest,” Max whispered. “That _he_ was kissing someone, right?”

“Yeah,” Alex said in barely a whisper.

“I didn’t know you liked him like that.”

“Neither did I.”

Max pulled Alex closer and told him it would be okay but he knew Alex wasn’t listening to him. He’d already helped Alex mend his broken heart once before, he wasn’t sure he had it in him to do it again. Alex deserved to be happy. Max just wished he’d thought to tell Alex what Forrest had planned to do today; he would have spared his best friend unnecessary heartbreak.

“I’m sorry, Alex,” Max whispered.

“Yeah, so am I… Sorry for my awful taste in men.”

Alex pulled away from Max and ran away. He didn’t follow him, the last thing Alex needed was Max watching him suffer in silence.

*

Thankfully, Alex showed up for their first lesson on time. His eyes were red but only someone who knew Alex as well as Max did would know it was the result of an intense crying session.

As they rounded the corner, heading for their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, a group of Sixth year Slytherin students were coming from the opposite direction. Kyle took one look at Alex and _knew_ something was wrong so of course he wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to make himself look good.

“No Valentine for you this year, Manes?” Kyle teased. “Is that why you’ve been crying? Sobbing into your pillow because every fag at this school was snogging in the Great Hall but not one of them wanted _you_?”

The Slytherin students began to laugh hysterically while Kyle gloated. 

“Like you’re one to talk,” Max snapped. “Don’t exactly see girls lining up to kiss _you_ , Valenti.”

“And here comes Evans, Manes’ whipped lackey, coming to fight the battles he’s too much of a wimp to fight himself,” Kyle laughed.

Max reached for his wand but Alex was quicker. He launched himself at Kyle, shoved him hard against the stone wall and punched him… Right as Professor Margo rounded the corner. 

Kyle was sent to the Hospital Wing. Alex was given Saturday evening detention. 


	3. Chapter 3

Word had spread quickly around the Castle that Alex Manes had decked Kyle Valenti and with each passing day, the story grew more and more outlandish that by the time Alex met Professor Margo for his detention, he was already sick of hearing the weird variations of what had actually happened and tired of having to correct the story.

Professor Margo was waiting in the hall outside the trophy room with a handful of rags and a bottle of polish. Alex’s arm began to ache just thinking about how many trophies were in that room. He’d be there until sunrise if she expected him to clean every single one.

Maybe she read his mind because she smiled as she handed him the bottle of polish.

“Don’t worry, Manes, you won’t be serving detention alone tonight,” she said. “But between the two of you it should still take most of the evening.”

‘Please don’t let it be Kyle’ Alex silently hoped.

“Sorry I’m late, Professor.”

Forrest’s voice caused Alex’s stomach to drop and his heart to skip a beat. He couldn’t decide if this was better or worse than Kyle.

“You say that every time,” Professor Margo smiled. 

“One day I might actually make it on time,” he joked.

“Or maybe one night you might _not_ actually have detention?”

Forrest grinned almost sheepishly and Alex’s heart fluttered. 

Dammit, why were these feelings stirring up now? How had he not known Forrest had a boyfriend? Well, of _course,_ he’d have someone… Forrest was… He was… Fuck! Alex hastily looked away; he didn’t want to be caught staring.

“I’ll be in the staff room if there’s any problems which I doubt there will be. You’re both responsible young men, I trust you’re capable of basic cleaning, yes?” She eyed them both.

“Yes, Professor,” both Alex and Forrest replied in unison.

“Good, I’ll be back to check your progress in a bit.”

She pushed the door open and ushered them both inside, handing the rags to Forrest. He let the door close behind her before he turned to Alex.

“Don’t worry, she won’t be back,” he assured him. “She never comes back.”

“You’ve had detention with her before I take it?” Alex asked.

“I think I’ve had detention with _every_ Professor at least twice.”

“Well, look at you and your rebel self.”

Alex moved further into the room, examining the trophies. Some looked only recently cleaned but the ones on the higher shelves had seen better days.

“You wanna start on top?” Alex asked him.

He immediately began to blush but Forrest didn’t bat an eye, merely shrugged.

“I prefer to work on the bottom,” he replied. “Fear of heights and all.”

“Fear of heights? You never said…” Alex paused. “I’m sorry, if I’d known I never would’ve… Uh, pressured you to ride my broom.”

Forrest moved towards Alex, reached out for the bottle of polish and poured some onto one of the rags. He then grabbed the nearest trophy and started cleaning it.

“It’s fine, it was kinda fun once I got past the sheer terror,” Forrest confessed.

“Still, if I’d known-”

“Then you wouldn’t have done it and we wouldn’t have the memory. It was nice what you did, I can kinda see why you love it so much,”

“Love _it_?”

“Flying and Quidditch… I’m thinking of asking my parents for a broom for my birthday.”

“Really?”

“Well, I won’t be trying out for Quidditch next year but maybe I wouldn’t be so scared of flying if I did it more, you know?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

Alex reached for a trophy and examined it. Runner up for a Gobstones tournament. He shook his head.

“So… What’s the weirdest trophy in here?” He asked Forrest.

“I, uh, guess I don’t remember,” he replied.

“Well, lucky us, we’ve got all night to find it.”

“What do we get if we find it?”

“Ohhh, a wager?”

“If _I_ find it, you give me your broomstick.” Forrest stated.

“My broom?” Alex repeated. “Fine, and if _I_ find it, you let Max out of your queer students’ group.”

“Does he _want_ to leave it?”

“Would you prefer the wager to be you shutting down the group altogether?”

“That’s a pretty _big_ wager over a stupid little trophy, Alex, I’m not giving up my cause.”

“Well I’m not giving you my broom,”

The conversation had started so cleanly, so easily, but had turned harsh quickly.

“How about if I find it, you just leave me alone forever?” Alex shouted.

“Alex?” Forrest appeared genuinely hurt. “It was a joke; I don’t actually want your broom! What the heck is wrong with you? Punching Valenti? Ending up in detention? Snapping at me when all I’ve ever done is try to be your friend.”

Alex paused, staring at Forrest. The other boy looked like Alex had just slapped him instead of Valenti. He realized Forrest was right, he _had_ been nothing but nice to Alex all along and in turn, Alex had been a right jerk to him. Even now, Alex’s anger that he was taking out on Forrest stemmed purely from his own hang-up that Forrest hadn’t told him he had a boyfriend… And really, why would Forrest tell him that? It had never come up in conversation and Alex had never once asked.

“You’re right,” Alex said to him. “I’m sorry. You really have been nothing but friendly and I reacted in all the wrong ways. Max keeps telling me I need to make more friends but I’m not good at letting people get close to me.”

“I swear, I’m not trying to… take Max away from you. I know how close you two are and I would never want to destroy that,” Forrest replied. “Max is a great guy and… for a straight guy, he really understands what I’m trying to do here and he genuinely wants to help.”

“I’m sorry I got jealous of you spending time with Max.”

“If it helps, all he does is talk about you or Liz… Are you sure he’s not bi?”

Alex immediately burst out laughing which made Forrest laugh too. They both turned to their respective trophies and resumed cleaning. They worked for around half an hour in silence before Alex asked how Forrest had ended up in detention.

“I thought it was obvious…” Forrest replied. “The, uh, Kiss-In on Valentine’s Day! I was the ringleader so the others only got one detention but they gave me a week’s worth.”

“You _all_ got detention? Just for kissing in the great hall?” Alex frowned. It was Valentine’s day; half the school had been kissing.

“Nah, it was the whole climbing on the staff table and throwing confetti that did it.”

“Oh.”

Alex had left the room before _that_ but it must’ve been a sight to behold. Though now his mind was shifting to the memory of Forrest and the other Hufflepuff boy, the way they’d kissed in front of everyone.

“Are you planning on polishing any _other_ trophies? You’ve been working on that same one for twenty minutes!” Alex gasped.

“Oh, right,” Forrest blushed. “Sorry, I just thought it deserved extra attention.”

He put it back on the shelf and reached for the next one. The hours ticked away and Forrest softly hummed to himself, Alex had expected it to be irritating but it was comforting. 

Alex pulled the ladder forward and climbed to the top rung to grab the next trophy but his foot slipped. He felt like he was falling in slow motion and double speed at the same time as it happened so fast but the floor slowly drew closer until he realized he wasn’t on the hard floor but in Forrest’s arms.

“Are you okay?” Forrest asked him.

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” Alex blushed. “Nice reflexes.”

“The last thing I need is more detention for letting the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain split his head open during detention.”

Alex was impressed that Forrest had not only caught him but hadn’t dropped him yet either. His heart was racing as he looked into Forrest’s eyes, their faces were so close together. A tiny part of him was tempted to lean that little bit further and thank him with a kiss but he couldn’t.

“I guess it would’ve increased Hufflepuff’s chance of beating us for the Cup this year,” Alex joked.

“For _that_ , I should drop you on your ass.”

But Forrest didn’t drop him, he carefully eased him back onto the ladder. Alex climbed down and once his feet were on solid ground, he vowed not to climb it again for the rest of the night… but inside, he secretly longed to be in Forrest’s arms again.

They worked until almost midnight before Forrest declared Professor Margo had clearly forgotten all about them. He collected the polish and the rags.

“Wait,” Alex cried which caused Forrest to stop. “You’ve, uh, you’ve got something on your…”

Alex reached up and tried to brush the polish from Forrest’s ear of all places. Unfortunately, his own fingers were equally as stained and he just made it worse.

“I’m sorry,” Alex apologized. “Maybe you can just put your pride earmuffs on to cover the damage?”

“Nah, just do this,”

Forrest grabbed Alex’s hand and brought it to his other ear. He pressed Alex’s finger to his skin, leaving a matching mark there too and he grinned.

“Now they match,” Forrest said with a shrug.

Alex laughed and Forrest said goodnight. He grabbed the polish and the rags then left. Once alone in the trophy room, Alex moved to the shelf and located the trophy Forrest had spent over twenty minutes polishing. One name on the plaque stood out shining brighter than any other, Gregory Manes.

Alex smiled to himself then left the trophy room, headed to the bathroom and threw himself into a nice, warm bubble bath.

*

He was in a much better mood after detention than Max had been expecting though he’d had no idea Alex had served his detention with Forrest. They hadn’t actually talked about him since Valentine’s day, almost a week ago now.

Alex had a Quidditch practice that morning and that often lifted his spirits so Alex had grabbed his broom and ran off, leaving Max confused yet relieved. He went down to breakfast alone and found Liz at the Ravenclaw table, reading over one of her textbooks. Max didn’t want to interrupt but she looked up, saw him and invited him to join her. She even closed the textbook and gave her undivided attention to Max.

“So, is everything okay with Alex?” She asked as he buttered his toast.

“Uh,” Max paused. He honestly didn’t know where to begin though it wasn’t his place to gossip.

“Punching Kyle? Getting detention? It’s not like him and I’m worried.”

“He’s, uh, dealing with some things right now but I’m keeping an eye on him,”

Liz smiled and placed her hand on Max’s wrist.

“You’re so good to him, Max,” she said, beaming. “I’m so glad he has you in his corner.”

“You know if _he_ hadn’t punched Kyle, _I_ would’ve.”

“No, you wouldn’t,”

“For Alex I would,”

She observed him, mulling his words over, weighing up if he really meant it. She decided he spoke the truth.

He started eating his breakfast, trying not to stare at her long, soft hair and her radiant smile.

“So, the next Quidditch match is coming up soon,” she said.

“Yeah, Ravenclaw and Slytherin isn’t it?”

“Sure is, any chance you’d like to watch the game with me?”

“Really?” Max tried to keep his jaw from hitting the table.

“Only if you want to; I mean, if you’d rather watch with Alex or-”

“No, I’d love to… with you… Alex is too invested in memorizing tactics and moves and… He can’t just sit back and enjoy the game for what it is.”

“That’s true,” Liz laughed. “I have to go meet Maria, but we’ll talk later?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,”

“Bye, Max,”

She grabbed her books, finished her juice and ran off. Max watched her go, her hair billowing as she glided from the hall. 

“Earth to Max, come in Max!”

He snapped to attention at Forrest waving his hand in front of his eyes.

“Was I hearing things or did a Ravenclaw just ask a Gryffindor out?” Forrest asked him. Max blushed.

“It’s nothing, it’s not a date, we’re just watching a Quidditch match together,” Max tried to downplay it but his stomach was in knots.

“Well, date or not, I’m happy for you,”

“Thanks… But don’t worry, I’m not giving up on the fight for equality amongst students _and_ houses, honest.”

“Hey, you don’t have to convince me… But you know you don’t have to fight this fight with me.”

“See, I think I do because if we all just stood together in the first place then there wouldn’t be this division.”

“You’re on odd one, Max Evans,”

“Uh… Thanks?” He frowned as he got to his feet.

“Hey, uh, what happened to you being happily single to not abandon Alex?”

“Liz asked _me_ , that’s what happened… But, for now, I’m just not going to tell Alex,”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Guess we’re gonna find out.”

***

Alex’s spirits were up for the next few days, right up until the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match anyway. His mood tended to drop when there was a match he wasn’t playing in. He was on his way down to the Quidditch pitch with Max and Liz when he caught a glimpse of blue hair hurrying towards him.

“Forrest?” Alex greeted him.

“Hey, Alex,” Forrest replied. “Bet you’re wishing you were playing today.”

“That obvious, huh?”

“You know Gryffindor isn’t playing today, right? You’ve got the wrong team colours on,”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Alex replied, his eyes scanning Forrest’s pride coloured scarf. He reached out and fingered the fabric.

“Any chance you wanna watch the game with me?” Forrest asked.

“Uh, oh,” Alex turned and saw both Liz and Max nodding enthusiastically at him. “Sure, why not?”

“Great, you can tell me every mistake every player makes,”

Forrest guided Alex towards one of the stands while Liz and Max headed to another. Alex was on the edge of his seat, watching every play with eager eyes and ignoring the match commentary to give his own running one to Forrest. It was a long game but Alex was on tenterhooks for the entire duration, at one point he was clutching Forrest’s arm so tightly he feared cutting off the flow of blood. 

When Ravenclaw won, they hugged enthusiastically at Slytherin’s defeat before the students trailed back up to the school for lunch. Alex spied Max and Liz walking ahead of them, holding hands, and he smiled to himself then nudged Forrest.

“They’re cute together, aren’t they?” Forrest said.

“Yeah, Max deserves to be happy,” Alex replied. “And Liz is just perfect for him.”

“You’re, uh, okay with that?”

“Well, a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor… It _could_ be considered frowned upon,”

Forrest laughed and playfully hit Alex but once they reached the Great Hall, they went their separate ways. Alex sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked over at the Hufflepuff one. His eyes met with Forrest’s and they smiled until another Hufflepuff boy sat down beside Forrest and hugged him. Alex immediately averted his eyes, his happy morning already fading to just a memory.

***

Monday morning and their first class was Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Max spent most of the lesson talking to Alex about his unofficial date with Liz and he was genuinely happy for him but inside, Alex was hurting again. Across the greenhouse, he was watching Forrest as he sat very close to the other Hufflepuff boy… the one he’d sat next to during lunch the previous day… the one he’d kissed on Valentine’s day.

“Are you even listening to me?” Max asked him. His eyes followed Alex’s gaze and he paused. “Oh.”

“Sorry, what?” Alex clearly wasn’t listening.

“Alex,” Max moved closer and lowered his voice. “If you’re into him, why don’t you just tell him?”

“I can’t; not now…”

“Why not?”

“It’s too late, besides, look at them,” he nodded at Forrest and his boyfriend. “I may be into him, but he’s clearly not into me,”

“You do know there’s nothing going on with those two, yeah?” Max asked him.

Alex looked at Max then over at Forrest in time to see the other boy kiss his cheek. Forrest laughed and Alex snapped his trowel.

“Yeah, totally innocent,” Alex whispered as the Professor called the end of class.

As they trudged out of the greenhouse, Alex kept his head bowed and when Max reached out a hand, he pulled away.

“Alex,” Max started.

“Don’t, Max,” Alex said. “I’m in a mood, and between you and Forrest and his stupidly coloured earmuffs… I just need to be left alone,”

Alex hurried back to the Castle but he didn’t head to the Great Hall, he ran back to the Gryffindor common room and skipped lunch. 

*

His time out didn’t do him any favours. By dinner he was starving so he was one of the first students in the Great Hall which meant he was one of the first to retire for the night too.

Max found him curled up in front of the fire in the common room and he walked over, sat beside him. He picked up Alex’s legs as he sat down then placed them across his lap.

“You want to talk about what happened today?” Max asked him.

“No,” Alex replied, gazing into the fire. “I don’t.”

“Alex, do you like Forrest?”

“Yes,”

“So, why don’t you tell him?”

“Because I’ve been lying to him all this time… I’ve spent months insisting to him that I’m straight and fighting with him on his equality stance when really, he’s right… He’s doing a good thing and it’s something that _needs_ to be done. _I_ shouldn’t be scared of showing support for his cause because his cause is _my_ cause…” he paused. “But I _am_ scared… Scared of being different and teased and taunted… being bullied, not just by Kyle but all the others like him who can’t accept me for who I am. I see Forrest, standing up and making a scene, wearing his pride scarf and placing strategic graffiti around the school and… A part of me is jealous, that he’s so free to be himself, not living in fear of bullies like Kyle.”

“Not every kid in this school is like Kyle.”

“Unfortunately they’re not all like you either, Max,” Alex sighed and reached for his friends’ hand. “Why couldn’t you have just been gay? It would’ve made my life so much easier.”

Max smiled to himself.

“What?” Alex frowned at Max’s grin.

“You said you wished I was gay,” Max replied. “You didn’t wish you were straight… and for _that_ , I’m proud of you. Now, come on, get up and let’s look over your homework for tomorrow.”

They both got up and headed for the dorm.

“Hey, Alex?” Max asked as he sank down on his four-poster bed. “What were you talking about before when you said about Forrest’s earmuffs?”

“The earmuffs he wears in class, I don’t see how he gets away with them in those vibrant colours.”

“Seriously, what are you talking about?”

“His earmuffs are woven in the colours of the pride flag.”

“No, they’re not.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“No, they’re not… Do you really think he’d be allowed to wear something not in line with the dress code?”

“What about his scarf?”

“Oh, yeah, he definitely has a pride scarf. He was wearing it at the last Quidditch match… He wears it to all the non-Hufflepuff games.”

But Alex had already stopped listening because the realization had just occurred to him. Forrest’s earmuffs _weren’t_ visible as being the pride colours to Max which meant only students who identified as queer could see it and Alex had told Forrest _he_ could see it.

Forrest knew Alex was gay and Alex couldn’t lie his way out of it now.

That night, he crawled into Max’s bed and told him he’d made a decision, one he hadn’t made lightly. He was going to come out; sooner rather than later.

*****

Max was worried that Alex was rushing his decision to come out based on a _suspicion_ that Forrest knew he was gay. Max had gotten to know Forrest over the past few months and he trusted the other boy. If, and that was a big IF, Forrest had figured out Alex was gay, he wasn’t going to out him… It wasn’t Forrest’s style.

“See, you say that but he’s actually been doing it all year!” Alex insisted.

“How so?” Max asked.

“With his earmuffs and his graffiti… he leaves it in very public places around the school and _any_ student who sees or reacts to it, is immediately outed to him, why didn’t I see this sooner?”

“Because he’s not doing it to be malicious; he’s trying to help… this way he knows who to reach out to. I mean, think about it, Alex, how many students has Forrest outed? That you know of?”

Alex paused. The answer was ‘none’ but he kept his mouth shut.

“See? None… and when did you say you mentioned the earmuffs to Forrest? During detention, right?”

“Yeah…”

“That was _weeks_ ago which means he’s known about your secret for weeks and hasn’t said anything except…”

“Except what?”

“Except he did ask you to the Quidditch match.”

“What? No, he didn’t, he asked to watch with me,”

“Like a date?”

“No, not like a date… Forrest has a boyfriend. Remember the guy he snogged on Valentine’s day? And got all cuddly with after that game?”

“Rory _isn’t_ Forrest’s boyfriend. He’s just another queer student who’s helping with the Equality cause.”

“Really? But they were snogging…”

“It was a kiss-in, you know, like a sit-in but all the students were kissing… it takes two to snog, Alex.”

“And after the match? He practically climbed into Forrest’s lap…”

“Alex, _you_ slept in my bed last night,”

“That’s different.”

“Why? Why is it different? Because it’s _us_? Is Forrest not allowed to have a friendship like ours?”

“Why do you have to find logic in all this Max?”

Alex collapsed, face down, on his bed and Max sat down beside him; placed his hand on Alex’s back.

“I just want you to be sure you’re doing this for the right reasons,” Max explained. “When Michael wanted you to come out, you weren’t ready but it _wasn’t_ all that long ago… Once you do this, you can’t undo it. Kyle’s been at you for a long time, are you ready for there to be others?”

“I will be if I have you by my side… You and Liz and…” he paused.

“Who are you going to tell first?”

“My teammates; we have the Hufflepuff match next weekend so I’m going to come out to them after training tomorrow night… if they kick me off the team, well, better it be sooner rather than later.”

“They’re not gonna kick you off the team, you’re the best captain Gryffindor has had in years and this won’t change that.”

He wanted to believe him, he really did, but Alex was a nervous wreck for the next two days. By the time he was heading down to the pitch for practice, his stomach was practically in his throat. There was no way he could last till the end of practice, he needed to rip the band aid off and just do it.

Troy and Aaron, the team's beaters, were lugging the chest with the bludgers from the change room when Alex asked them to wait. He called them to attention and stated he had an announcement. As each of his team mates looked up at him, Alex began to panic.

“Please tell me you’re not resigning from the team?” Sharon stated. “We _can’t_ lose you as our Captain, not when we’re so close to winning the Cup for the third year in a row!”

“No, I’m not… not resigning, not yet,” Alex said. “I mean, you might want me to once you hear what I have to say…”

“Will you just spit it out already?” Troy said. “We’re losing precious practice time!”

“Fine!” Alex drew a deep breath, “everyone, I’m gay.”

At first, nothing happened. Troy and Aaron looked at each other then shrugged. Shannon and Rani both smiled. No one said a word.

“Y’all heard me, right?” Alex said, nervously.

“Yeah, we heard ya,” Aaron said. “So are we using all the balls for practice or just the quaffle?”

“That’s it? You just wanna know if it’s okay to release the bludger for practice?”

“Well, yeah,” Aaron replied. “Come on, Troy, let’s get some extra practice in.”

They grabbed the case and walked out. Alex turned to Sean, the team seeker, who was pulling on his gloves.

“I’m happy for you, Captain,” he said before following the others onto the pitch.

Finally he turned to Shannon and Rani, both his fellow chasers were still smiling.

“So, are none of you surprised or do you just not care?” Alex asked them.

“My sister is in her fourth year and she’s dating a girl in Ravenclaw,” Shannon said. 

“I have two mothers,” Rani replied. “It’s not that we don’t care, Alex, it’s just… not that big a deal to some people.”

“Kyle’s been spreading rumours about you for months… is he a jealous ex?”

“Definitely not!” Alex insisted.

“So why are you coming out now?” Shannon asked him.

“Well… Turns out I like this boy and I’m hopeful he likes me and, if he does, I want to be able to hold his hand in public and make out with him by the lake… maybe even have meals with him in the Great Hall… and I don’t want to feel like it’s for the attention, I just want it to be normal.”

“Gee Alex you’re starting to sound like Forrest Long,”

He immediately began to blush. Both Rani and Shannon gasped as they both realized what Alex wasn’t saying. The boy he wanted to hold hands with, _was_ Forrest Long. They both squealed, they grabbed an arm each and as they headed to the pitch for their practice, both girls demanded details… Because Alex Manes and Forrest Long were the Queer Power Couple this school desperately needed and Shannon and Rani just wanted their friend and Quidditch Captain to be happy.

***

Max had wanted to be with Alex when he told the Quidditch team his big secret but his friend had asked him not to come to practice because he’d wanted to do it himself. He’d reiterated several times how much he appreciated Max’s support but he knew he needed to stand on his own, besides it was only six people he was coming out to, not the entire school at once.

But while Alex was at practice, Max was in the Library with Forrest who seemed weirdly distracted tonight. Max himself was really tempted to accidentally slip in a comment about the huge step Alex was taking right now but it wasn’t his place, even if both he and Alex were one hundred percent convinced Forrest knew.

Max kept a close eye on the time, wanting to be back in the common room when practice ended so he could ask Alex how it had gone. Around ten to nine, he started packing up his books and accidentally knocked over the pile Forrest had bought with him. He knelt down to pick them up and a letter fell free of the pages. Max only caught a brief glimpse but it was enough for him to recognize the handwriting.

“Forrest?” Max began as the other boy shoved the letter into his pocket, away from Max’s grasp.

“That’s _private_ , Max,” he declared.

But his protectiveness had already been heightened and he reached for his wand. He wasn’t sure what he’d planned to do but at least he was armed now.

“Forrest!” He hissed.

“It’s _nothing_ ,”

“If there’s even a tiny miniscule part of you that’s actually my friend, you’ll tell me the truth. Why do you have a letter from Gregory Manes?”

“Oh, so, now it’s against the law for a Hufflepuff student to write to a former Hufflepuff?”

“ _Forrest_!”

He sighed as he averted his eyes and reached into his pocket, pulled out the now crumbled up parchment. His eyes scanned the immediate vicinity, there were too many other students around.

“Not here,” he said. “Come on,”

They collected their books and left the library but only moved past a few classrooms before Forrest pushed the door open. They both went inside and sat down on a desk each.

“What game are you playing at?” Max demanded to know.

“No! No game, I swear!” Forrest insisted.

Max’s stomach was in knots. Alex was down at the Quidditch pitch, about to come out to his teammates for a boy who was secretly corresponding with his older brother. Was it too late to stop him?

“You’re Alex’s best friend, right? You know _everything_ there is to know about him?” Forrest started.

“I know everything he wants me to know,” Max replied. “Now you tell me what I need to know. Why are you in contact with Alex’s brother?”

“I’ve known Alex’s secret for a while,” Forrest confessed. “I mean, I didn’t _know_ but I’d suspected… it’s kinda a long story. When I was on the lookout for recognizable students to help me, Alex was the first one to come to mind. He’s athletic, Quidditch Captain, the Professor’s all like him, he’s gorgeous… But he wasn’t gay… then I saw him sneaking into the forbidden forest last year with Michael Guerin and it got me wondering…”

Max jumped off the table and grabbed the front of Forrest’s robe. 

“Did you _target_ him?” Max hissed in a threatening tone.

“What? No!” Forrest insisted. “No! Max, I swear!”

“Tell me the _truth_ ,”

“I like him, Max, a lot, okay? I didn’t mean to fall for him but it happened. After he threw his butterbeer all over me, I knew he was something special and I just wanted to get to know him…” he paused. “There’s this room in the Hufflepuff dorm where past students have written their dreams and ambitions and I found a message from Greg about Alex. So, I wrote to Greg and told him who I was and asked if I could show his message to Alex.”

“You took Alex into the Hufflepuff dormitory?”

“I take it he didn’t tell you?”

“No, he didn’t.” Max paused. It must’ve been very personal for Alex to have not told him about.

“He swore he’d deny giving his blessing if we got caught,” Forrest said. “But he appreciated that I cared enough to share it with Alex.”

“So you’ve liked him all this time? And you’ve been using me to get close to him?”

“No, you’re the one who sought me out and I really just appreciated your help.”

“Forrest-”

“Alex and I had a moment over Christmas break and I’ve basically been smitten ever since but I can’t do anything until he’s ready… I reached out to Greg to ask his advice and he just said… well…”

Forrest handed the parchment to Max and he unfurled it. His eyes skimmed the very brief letter before his gaze shifted back up to Forrest’s.

“Really?” Max laughed.

“Yeah,” Forrest replied. “But I wasn’t gonna… I mean… I swear I’m not using you, Max!”

“Forrest, Greg told you the way to Alex is through me.”

“I don’t want to go _through_ you, Max, I want us to be friends and I want you to know that I care about Alex; if I had even the smallest chance to be with him, I’d jump at it and I would do anything for him, to protect him and look out for him the way that you and Greg have done all this time.”

“You’re a nice guy, Forrest, but I have no control over Alex’s heart. If you like him, you go after him on your own terms… don’t go through me or through Greg, just be yourself… _that’s_ all Alex needs.”

“But I can’t… Can’t show my hand yet, Alex isn’t out and I won’t betray him… But, on a selfish note, I don’t think I could be with him while he’s in the closet so until he’s ready to come out, I’m going to respect his privacy. The last thing he needs is pressure from me to come out.”

“You really are a decent guy, Forrest,” Max handed the parchment back to him. “I, uh, hope you don’t have to wait too long to… be happy.”

Max pocketed his wand and started towards the door.

“Max?” Forrest called. “Please don’t tell Alex I reached out to Greg.”

“It’s none of my business if one Hufflepuff reaches out to another,” Max replied before disappearing out the door.

Max practically ran all the way to Gryffindor tower, hoping Alex still wasn’t back yet. He passed through the portrait hole and into the common room but none of the Quidditch team were there. He moved into the far corner and sat in his usual oversized armchair to wait.

Over the next fifteen minutes the team members slowly trickled back into the common room. Each time the portrait opened; Max sat up but first he saw the two beaters pass by then Alex’s fellow chasers joined their friends by the fire. The team’s seeker appeared next but still no sign of Alex.

The portrait finally opened to reveal Alex and the team’s keeper. They were laughing about something and Max was relieved to see Alex was happy. His friend immediately came running over to him, beaming a wide smile, and he hugged Max.

“How did it go?” Max asked him.

“It was… fine,” Alex replied. “They didn’t care.”

“What?” Max gasped.

“In a good way, I mean, like, nothing’s changed,” he shrugged. “They didn’t boot me off the team or hate me for not telling them sooner or anything.”

“I’m so proud of you, Alex.”

“Thank you, Max, thank you for always being here for me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, come on, let’s go up to the dorm and you can tell me all about it,”

*

Alex relayed his coming out to Max while they snacked on a box of Every Flavour Beans. It was a small first step but already Max could see a change in Alex, a weight lifting from his shoulders.

When the rest of their fellow sixth years came up to bed, Alex moved from Max’s bed to his own. They each pulled the curtains around their beds then after the lights went out, he waited and waited but Alex didn’t climb into his bed. 

He knew that was a good thing because Alex was becoming comfortable in his own skin, with himself, and that made Max smile… and only miss him a little.

*****

Alex was almost scared to go to breakfast the next morning, convinced his announcement would have spread to the entire school by now but when he stepped into the Great Hall, not one person acknowledged him. It was a morning just like any other really.

Breakfast was uneventful, classes flowed just the same and even lunch was same old same old. He had a free period after lunch and went back up to the Gryffindor common room where he bumped into Sean, the team’s seeker.

“Hey, Sean?” Alex called out.

Sean came wandering over and sat down at the table opposite Alex.

“What’s up, Captain?” Sean asked him.

“Did you, uh, tell anyone about… me?”

“No,” he frowned. “Was I supposed to?”

“Oh, no! No, of course not… I just… kinda thought something like that would spread fast.”

“Sorry, Cap, I just… you know, it never occurred to me… it’s none of my business who you wanna snog.”

“Thanks Sean.”

Alex watched him walk away and leaned back in his seat. Was it possible not a single one of his teammates had told anyone? That his sexuality really _wasn’t_ that big a deal to any of them?

He sighed to himself. He’d come out once, he didn’t need to do it again. Word would spread eventually but if Kyle tried to tease him, he’d fight back again… not that Kyle had said anything since he’d punched him.

Alex was still sitting at the small table when Max’s class finished and he joined Alex.

“Hey, I, uh, don’t want to downplay this,” he whispered. “But I haven’t heard a single rumour about you today.”

“Me neither,” Alex agreed. “I think none of my teammates subscribe to the gossip mill.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, I think I am… I mean, I’m probably going to spend the rest of my life coming out over and over again but I told the people who matter most to me, my teammates, and that’s all I need for now. If someone asks me outright, I’m not going to lie anymore, but I’m not about to wear Forrest’s pride scarf through the halls either.”

“Oh? You’re not going to ask if you can borrow it?”

“Max!”

They both laughed and Max was happy to see Alex smiling again. He never wanted to see his friend unhappy again.

***

But after dinner, Max was walking Liz to the library so she could sneak in an hour of study and he had to say something though he wasn't sure how to broach the subject.

“So, Alex told me he came out to his teammates,” Liz said.

“Yeah, last night during Quidditch practice,” Max replied. “They were cool with it.”

“As they should be!”

“Liz, I, uh, have a problem,” he said to her.

“Oh no, don’t tell me someone isn’t okay with it. Is it Kyle?”

“No! It’s nothing like that…” Max paused. “It’s Alex and Forrest.”

“Alex and _Forrest_?” She repeated.

“They like each other,” Max said. “Forrest knows Alex is gay but not that he’s out now and he won’t make a move until he’s certain Alex is out… and Alex, he doesn’t know Forrest is into him so he won’t make a move until he’s certain he’s into him.”

“Wow, and how is that _your_ problem, Max?”

“Do I tell them what I know? Or one of them?”

“What? No! You can’t… you can’t meddle, Max, give them space to come together in their own time.”

“I just want Alex to be happy and I think Forrest can do that,”

They reached the library and Liz placed her hand on Max’s arm.

“You’re a good friend, Max,” she said. “And Alex does deserve to be happy but it’s not your place.”

“I know you’re right but-”

“No, no ‘buts’ Max, you stay out of their love lives okay?”

“Okay,” Max smiled. “So, uh, the Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor match is this weekend… uh, any chance you want to watch it with me?”

“I’d love to.”

Max walked away with mixed feelings in his heart. He’d successfully asked Liz out on a date. If he got to have the girl of his dreams then why couldn’t Alex have the man of his?

But he’d promised Liz he wouldn’t interfere. He just hoped Alex or Forrest would make a move and the sooner, the better.

*****

It took a few days for word to trickle around the school. Perhaps it was because Kyle had been spouting the rumour all year that each time someone heard talk of Alex being gay, it was immediately dismissed as part of Kyle’s bullying. 

On Friday afternoon, the first-class Alex had shared with Forrest since coming out to his teammates, was equally uneventful. He didn’t dare approach Forrest from fear of maybe blurting out that he was gay and a part of him was still afraid that Forrest was mad at him for not telling him the truth sooner.

It wasn’t until class was over and the students were slowly trudging from the greenhouse that Forrest walked up to him, his bright coloured earmuffs around his neck. Alex tried so hard to avoid looking at the earmuffs.

“So, big match tomorrow, huh?” Forrest said to him.

“Uh, yeah,” Alex replied.

“Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor… Should I start with the smack talk?”

“Convinced your team are gonna win, huh?”

Forrest quickly looked around before leaning in closer to whisper in Alex’s ear.

“Not a chance against a captain like you,” he whispered before quickly pulling away. “It’s more realistic than _your_ team winning!” Forrest declared louder.

“Is that a challenge?” Alex asked, the familiar twinkle in his eyes.

“You want a wager?” Forrest replied.

“If you’re game.”

By now the rest of the students had all filed from the greenhouse, leaving just Forrest and Alex alone.

“Well, I just told you I’m convinced your team will win so not really much of a wager,” Forrest said.

“You have a strong defence though and your chasers always score high,” Alex defended the Hufflepuff team.

“Listen, Alex, last time we tried to have a fun wager, things were said and it got ugly,” Forrest said. “If you guys win, why don’t you just find a really memorable way to celebrate?”

“And if we lose to Hufflepuff?”

“Then… You have to wear my Hufflepuff scarf to every game for the rest of the year _and_ sit next to me at each one so I can make sure you’re definitely wearing it.”

“Fine, it's a deal.”

They shook hands before parting, heading back to the Castle together.

“I, uh, won’t be at the game tomorrow,” Forrest said.

“What? Why not?”

“Saturday morning detention and Professor Armand makes me dress in full uniform to write lines, it’s so boring!”

“What did you do this time?”

“What didn’t I do?” He chuckled. “The Professors keep making me miss Quidditch matches, thinking it’s a punishment but, you know what? For the first time, it actually _is_ because I was looking forward to watching you play.”

Alex blushed at Forrest’s words but before he could say another word, two other Hufflepuff students swept in and dragged Forrest away. 

He headed to join Max at the Gryffindor table.

“Why the long face?” Max asked him. “I saw you talking to Forrest…”

“He’s got detention so he’s not coming to the game tomorrow.”

“More likely he doesn’t want to see Hufflepuff get slammed by Gryffindor!”

“He…” Alex lowered his voice. “He said he’d been looking forward to watching me play,” he blushed. “And now he’s not going to be there.”

“Maybe you could ask him to lunch after? You know, as friends, then tell him how the game went.”

“You know I can’t do _that_!”

“You _can_ , you’re just scared to.”

“I am _not_ scared of Forrest Long!” Alex hissed. He got to his feet and stomped off, moving further down the table to join his fellow chasers. Max knew he’d struck a nerve. Alex wasn’t scared of Forrest, just his feelings for him. He really hoped they’d resolve that quickly.

***

Saturday morning and the weather conditions were perfect for a Quidditch match. The Gryffindor team were the first students at the breakfast table where Alex was pouring over strategy notes. Other students began to trickle into the hall, many wishing them luck for the match.

Forrest stood out like a sore thumb in his school robes but the Hufflepuff scarf obscured a little of his uniform. Most of the Hufflepuff students were either aware that Forrest had detention or were just used to it for none said a word about the way he was dressed.

As students got up to leave and make their way down to the pitch, Forrest headed to his detention but he stopped at the Gryffindor table to wish Alex a ‘good game’.

Alex was genuinely disappointed to know Forrest wouldn’t be there, even if Quidditch wasn’t his thing Alex was sure he’d have been at the match if not for his detention. He couldn’t afford to be distracted though, he needed to focus and concentrate on the game.

He walked down to the pitch with Max and Liz who were, once again, holding hands and for a brief moment he daydreamed about walking to the pitch himself and holding hands with Forrest. Of course that was never gonna happen if the other boy didn’t keep getting detention.

Alex went into the change rooms and pulled on his Quidditch uniform. He kept his team pep talk short since he wasn’t feeling overly peppy today. The team walked out onto the pitch and he saw the Hufflepuff team. Alex shook hands with the Hufflepuff team Captain, the whistle blew and the game began.

The weather conditions hadn’t changed so it was a beautiful day for a game. If Alex hadn’t been concentrating so hard on the match, he’d have loved to just have a leisurely fly around on his broom… 

Maybe this afternoon he could offer to give Forrest a flying lesson, that was something they could do as friends…

No, he couldn’t risk getting too close to Forrest because the blue haired boy would be mad at him for hiding his sexuality, denying it for so long. The months of friendship Alex had been building with Forrest, the foundation was built on a lie… a lie Alex had told the day he’d poured his butterbeer all over him. The lies had continued until he’d even had Forrest lying _for_ him.

He missed the quaffle when Rani passed it to him and the Hufflepuff chaser caught it. Alex scolded himself. He needed to stop thinking about Forrest and focus on the game.

The last time these two teams had faced off, the game had lasted ten minutes before Sean had caught the snitch but the Cup was going to be riding on points now so it was imperative Gryffindor score as many points as possible before the snitch was caught.

Gryffindor were trailing by twenty points when Alex called a time out. They’d been playing for fifty minutes and every player was sweating through their uniform. The lovely warm weather was beginning to work against them.

The game resumed and Alex scored a goal while Shannon scored two. Their keeper successfully blocked two goals, evening out the scores. The spectators were on the edge of their seats but the players were growing tired from the heat. Gryffindor secured two more goals but the score was too close that the winner would be determined by who caught the snitch first.

Alex couldn’t remember playing in a game that went on this long. He loved flying and Quidditch but the weather and his sweat was making it difficult to concentrate. He knew Sean was doing his best but there was no sign of the snitch anywhere.

The Hufflepuff captain called for a break and Alex was relieved. The team adjourned to the change rooms and used their wands to syphon the sweat from their clothes

“I’m sweating so bad my glasses keep sliding off,” Troy moaned.

“Sorry guys, I’m trying my best,” Sean said.

“You’re doing great, Sean, the important thing is _they_ haven’t seen the snitch either,” Alex stated.

“It’s been two hours,” Rani said. “Even my gloves are filled with sweat.”

“Come on, guys!” Alex said. “I know you’re tired, we _all_ are but that means they’re getting tired too and we have way more stamina then they do. We’ve trained longer and harder than any other team, we’re ready for this!”

They returned to the pitch and the game resumed but as Alex was flying towards the goal posts, he saw a fleck of blue in the stands. He threw the quaffle past the Hufflepuff keeper to score another goal then as he steered his broom away, he looked into the stands and there was Forrest, cheering for him. Alex’s heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly became more focused and diligent, he rounded up his team and called words of encouragement to them. Alex was screaming to Sean what a good job he was doing when he suddenly took off on his broom in a very steep nose dive. Alex was too busy watching him that a bludger zoomed past and missed him by millimetres.

A roar erupted from the Gryffindor students in the stands and Alex went careening towards Sean who was clutching the snitch tightly in his hand. The game was over and Gryffindor were officially the winners.

All the students in the stands began to pour onto the pitch in celebration. Alex just wanted a shower but Max and Liz were running towards him. He hugged them both without even dismounting from his broom.

After the congratulatory hugs, Max stepped aside and suddenly Forrest was there, right in front of Alex. He was dressed in his school robes and wearing his Hufflepuff scarf. Alex began to sweat just looking at him.

“Aren’t you dying from the heat in those robes? And the scarf?” Alex asked him.

“About as much as you are by the looks of it,” he replied. “I wasn’t sure how much longer the match was going for so didn’t want to waste time going back and changing.”

“It was a tough one, your team fought hard, put up a good fight,”

“A well-deserved victory for your team, Alex.”

“Thank you.”

“So, how do you plan to celebrate?”

“I’m thinking a victory kiss,”

“A what?”

“A victory kiss, winner’s choice and all,”

Alex leaned over and wrapped his arm around Forrest, pulling him closer then he moved in as Forrest tilted his head back to meet him halfway, his own arms sliding around Alex’s neck as they drew nearer. Their lips met in a gentle kiss amid all the cheering students, most of whom were cheering for Gryffindor’s victory.

But amongst the crowd were Max and Liz who were watching Alex as he kissed a boy he really liked in front of the entire school. _Their_ cheers were for their friend and his personal victory.

Liz was so happy for Alex, so overcome with tears in her eyes that she turned to Max and kissed him. When they parted, Max couldn’t speak, he wrapped her in his arms and they both turned to see Alex and Forrest still kissing though Alex had now safely dismounted from his broom.

Not only had Gryffindor won the match but both Max and Alex had won so much more today. They’d both won a victory in their own hearts and they couldn’t be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to check out Mia's beautiful art that inspired this fic here:  
> https://miadulceaphel.tumblr.com/post/626569868340346881/this-was-a-lot-of-fun-for-me-actually-these-are
> 
> OR HERE:  
> https://ko-fi.com/i/IS6S021WSO


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